Government Accountability Project
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[edit] Mission
The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a 29-year-old nonprofit public interest group that promotes government and corporate accountability by advancing occupational free speech, defending whistleblowers, and empowering citizen activists. We pursue this mission through our Nuclear Safety, International Reform, Corporate Accountability, Food & Drug Safety, and Federal Employee/National Security programs. GAP is the nation's leading whistleblower protection organization.
[edit] What is a Whistleblower?
Every year, thousands of Americans witness wrongdoing on the job. What they witness may jeopardize the health, safety or lives of others. They may see managers at a nuclear facility violate a safety code, a chemical company dump hazardous waste unlawfully, or a food processing plant attempt to sell contaminated and dangerous meat to consumers.
Most employee remain silent. Others choose to bear witness and speak out. They seek to make a difference by blowing the whistle on unethical conduct in the workplace. Our composite definition of whistleblower taken from combined state, federal and international cases is an employee who exercises from speech rights to challenge corporate and government abuses of power that betray the public trust. Blowing the whistle may include:
(a) reporting wrongdoing or a violation of the law to the proper authorities such as a supervisor, a hotline or an Inspector General
(b) refusing to participate in workplace wrongdoing
(c) testifying in a legal proceeding
(d) leaking evidence of wrongdoing to the media
Is all retaliation by an employer whistleblowing?
No. Whistleblowing seldom includes an employer’s retaliation for complaints about personal dislikes or issues that affect only a single person (However, laws governing equal employment and prohibiting discrimination do address personal discrimination). Rather, Whistleblower complaints focus on conduct prohibited by a specific law and that may cause damage to public safety, waste tax dollars, or violate public trust in an honest, accountable government. Under the Whistleblower Protection Act, whistleblowing is defined as disclosing information that an employee reasonably believes is evidence of illegality, gross waste or fraud, gross mismanagement, abuse of power, or a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety.
