51 U.S.C. § 30502 — Whistleblower protection

submitted 16 years ago by Pub. L. 111-314 to r/title-51-NATIONAL-AND-COMMERCIAL-SPACE-PROGRAMS · 400 words · no verdicts yet

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The Administrator must build a plan to protect whistleblowers who report safety or mission concerns. The plan must keep complaints confidential and let employees track their case. Each year, the Administrator must report how many concerns were raised.

(a) In General. Within one year after December 30, 2005, the Administrator must send Congress's House Committee on Science and Technology and Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation a plan. The plan must describe how the Administration will protect employees from retaliation when they raise concerns about serious, specific dangers to public health and safety, or serious, specific risks to a mission's success. The plan must give employees the full legal protection they are owed, and the Administrator must put it into effect within one year after sending it. (b) Goal. The Administrator must make sure the plan describes a system that protects employees who raise, or have raised, the concerns described in subsection (a). (c) Plan. At a minimum, and consistent with federal law, the plan must include: (1) a reporting structure that keeps the officials named in a complaint from learning who the whistleblower is; (2) a single point where all complaints can be made without fear of retaliation; (3) procedures letting the whistleblower track the case's status; (4) education for employees about their whistleblower rights and legal protections; (5) education for employees about their duty to report concerns and their accountability, both before and after an investigation's results come back; and (6) education for Human Resources staff, managers, and supervisors about the relevant personnel laws, rules, and regulations. (d) Report. Starting February 15, 2007, and every February 15 after that, the Administrator must send the same two congressional committees a report on the concerns raised under subsection (a) during the previous fiscal year. At a minimum, the report must give: (1) how many concerns were raised, broken down into safety and health, mission assurance, and mismanagement, plus what happened with each one — including whether any employee was disciplined because a concern was raised; and (2) any recommendations to further prevent retaliation against employees who raise concerns.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)In General.—

Not later than 1 year after December 30, 2005, the Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a plan describing steps to be taken by the Administration to protect from retaliation Administration employees who raise concerns about substantial and specific dangers to public health and safety or about substantial and specific factors that could threaten the success of a mission. The plan shall be designed to ensure that Administration employees have the full protection required by law. The Administrator shall implement the plan not more than 1 year after its transmittal.

(b)Goal.—

The Administrator shall ensure that the plan describes a system that will protect employees who wish to raise or have raised concerns described in subsection (a).

(c)Plan.—

At a minimum, the plan shall include, consistent with Federal law—

(1)

a reporting structure that ensures that the officials who are the subject of a whistleblower’s complaint will not learn the identity of the whistleblower;

(2)

a single point to which all complaints can be made without fear of retribution;

(3)

procedures to enable the whistleblower to track the status of the case;

(4)

activities to educate employees about their rights as whistleblowers and how they are protected by law;

(5)

activities to educate employees about their obligations to report concerns and their accountability before and after receiving the results of the investigations into their concerns; and

(6)

activities to educate all appropriate Administration Human Resources professionals, and all Administration managers and supervisors, regarding personnel laws, rules, and regulations.

(d)Report.—

Not later than February 15 of each year beginning February 15, 2007, the Administrator shall transmit a report to the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the concerns described in subsection (a) that were raised during the previous fiscal year. At a minimum, the report shall provide—

(1)

the number of concerns that were raised, divided into the categories of safety and health, mission assurance, and mismanagement, and the disposition of those concerns, including whether any employee was disciplined as a result of a concern having been raised; and

(2)

any recommendations for reforms to further prevent retribution against employees who raise concerns.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3367.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

2010Enacted · Pub. L. 111-314 · 124 Stat. 3367

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 111-314 on 2010-12-18.

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