WASHINGTON — Whistleblowers help protect the public interest by reporting violations of law or gross mismanagement.
But, by shining a light on wrong-doing, employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have become the targets of workplace retaliation.
Any of the VA's 400,000 employees who witness fraud or malpractice within the agency are supposed to be able to come forward and report wrongdoing without fear of reprisal.
But the number of whistleblower retaliation cases that the VA's Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection has received is on the rise.
According to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), those cases increased from 577 in 2020 to 736 in 2023.
"All of which implicates and undermines the fundamental health, safety and dignity of the veterans they serve," said Joe Spielberger, policy counsel at the Project of Government Oversight during a hearing Thursday of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Lawmakers were clearly displeased with the findings.
"A culture of accountability cannot exist at the VA if their leadership continues to tolerate employees that harm veterans or harass fellow employees. A culture of accountability also cannot exist if VA employees are not empowered to speak out when they see this harm and harassment," said Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia, 2nd District), the subcommittee's chair.
When asked about this issue back in May, VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes told Military.com:
"Any retaliation for whistleblowers is unacceptable, and we continue to place a heavy focus on whistleblower rights and protections training for managers, supervisors, and employees – including communicating the remedies for employees who believe they have experienced retaliation."