United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Health, Education, and Human Services Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-09-02 monographic deposited born digital 55 p. GA 1.13:HEHS-97-162 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-162 P0b002ee180393786 f:he97162 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-162 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-162 HEHS-97-162 Whistleblowers Nuclear powerplant safety Labor-management relations Interagency relations Administrative remedies Ethical conduct Investigations by federal agencies Program abuses Employment discrimination Occupational safety NRC Allegation Management System Letter Report HEHS

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the nuclear power industries' concerns with the federal whistleblower protection system, focusing on: (1) how the Nuclear Regulation Commission (NRC) and the Department of Labor have implemented federal processes to protect whistleblowers; (2) whether Labor's rulings on protected activities have had any effect on industry's ability to manage its workforce and comply with NRC regulations; and (3) whether abuse of the federal whistleblower protection system exists.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) while industry officials have no disagreement with the policy underlying the federal whistleblower protection system, some say that the current NRC and Labor processes take too long to complete, are redundant, consume large amounts of managers' time and other resources, interfere with effective management, and are often used to resolve issues only marginally related to nuclear safety; (2) GAO's March 1997 report noted that many of these issues have previously been raised and that corrective actions are under way to improve several of these areas; (3) however, some industry officials believe that few of these actions will help solve the problems that they have with the system; (4) these officials also say that some of Labor's rulings during the 1990s broadened whistleblower protections and undermined industry's confidence in the system's ability to resolve issues fairly for employers; (5) abuse of the whistleblower protection system, officials claim, takes the form of employees'; (a) making discrimination allegations, some of which are completely frivolous, and using their "protected" status to insulate themselves from personnel actions, such as negative performance evaluations or reassignments; or (b) threatening to file discrimination allegations to avoid or delay layoffs, negotiate buyouts, or receive other financial settlements; (7) however, while they are concerned about the burdensome and costly processes that result from such abuse, neither the industry officials GAO interviewed nor the Nuclear Energy Institute had information on the extent of such abuse or believe that such data could be collected; (8) industry officials' suggestions to improve whistleblower protection emphasized holding in abeyance NRC action to investigate or engage in enforcement action based on whistleblower claims until Labor has completed its investigations and issued a final ruling; (9) however, as a result of their perceptions about the processes and Labor's rulings, as well as their view that little is likely to change in their favor, industry officials say they become increasingly inclined to avoid the federal system and settle complaints before the issues are made known outside the plant or to settle the cases early in the federal whistleblower protection processes; (10) officials from NRC and Labor, however, did not agree with these industry comments and viewed their agencies as acting appropriately and within their authority; and (11) neither agency accepted the assertion by some industry officials that the whistleblower protection system is plagued by abuse. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-162/html/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-162.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-162/pdf/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-162.pdf GAO/HEHS-97-162 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-162 Letter Report GAO/HEHS-97-162; Nuclear Power Safety: Industry Concerns With Federal Whistleblower Protection System; Whistleblowers Nuclear powerplant safety Labor-management relations Interagency relations Administrative remedies Ethical conduct Investigations by federal agencies Program abuses Employment discrimination Occupational safety NRC Allegation Management System Title 4 Section 6971 4 U.S.C. 6971 Title 15 Section 2622 15 U.S.C. 2622 Title 29 Section 201et seq. Title 29 Section 2601et seq. Title 29 Section 660(c) 29 U.S.C. 201et seq. 29 U.S.C. 2601et seq. 29 U.S.C. 660(c) Title 33 Section 1367 Title 33 Section 1369 33 U.S.C. 1367 33 U.S.C. 1369 Title 38 Section 4212 38 U.S.C. 4212 Title 42 Section 300j9 Title 42 Section 5821 Title 42 Section 5851 Title 42 Section 7622 Title 42 Section 9610 42 U.S.C. 300j9 42 U.S.C. 5821 42 U.S.C. 5851 42 U.S.C. 7622 42 U.S.C. 9610 Title 49 Section 31105 Title 49 Appendix 2305 49 U.S.C. 31105 49 U.S.C. App. 2305