| Description |
Part I of this Comment provides an overview of the potential of whistleblowers to effect policy change by drawing upon the historic example of the whistleblower Deep Throat, who reported a White House cover-up of the infamous Watergate scandal during the Nixon Administration. Part I also sets the stage for redefining the importance of whistleblowing, given September 11 th and the importance of restricting access to information to protect national security. Part 1I begins by providing a brief review of traditional labor law protections for environmental whistleblowers from employer retaliation and then analyzes a unique, information-based statutory tool available to some environmental whistleblowers in the federal government: the disclosure referral process of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989. Part III analyzes the new procedural requirements imposed on federal agencies under the No FEAR Act. Finally, Part IV proposes a new paradigm for policymakers who contemplate greater legal protections for whistleblowers. Specifically, this Comment argues that federal whistleblower laws should reject the traditional goal of adequately protecting the individual whistleblower from employer retaliation and should strive for legal protections that properly capitalize on a whistleblower's information to improve overall governmental accountability and transparency. (Description from Source) |