RRB employees and contractors perform an important service when they report, what they reasonably believe to be, evidence of wrongdoing, and the law protects them from threatened or actual reprisal for doing so. The information and linked materials accessible from this page are intended to serve as educational tools for RRB employees, supervisors, and contractors about whistleblower protections.
Whistleblower Protected Disclosures
Federal law prohibits RRB managers from retaliating against employees who provide information they reasonably believe evidences:
- a violation of any law, rule, or regulation; or
- a gross mismanagement; a gross waste of funds; an abuse of authority; or a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety.
You are protected if you make a whistleblower disclosure to the Office of Special Counsel, the RRB's Office of Inspector General, or an RRB supervisor/official.
You are also protected if you make such a disclosure to other individuals or organizations, such as a Congressional committee or the media, provided that the disclosure is not specifically prohibited by law and the information does not have to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign affairs.
Whistleblower Retaliation
It is a prohibited personnel practice for management to retaliate against whistleblowing Federal employees. Whistleblower retaliation is an adverse action in response to a protected disclosure of information. Retaliation may include almost any personnel action, failure to take a personnel action, or threat to take or fail to take a personnel action, which adversely affects the whistleblower, such as a:
- non-promotion,
- disciplinary action,
- detail, transfer or reassignment,
- unfavorable performance evaluation,
- decision concerning pay, benefits or awards, or
- significant change in duties, responsibilities or working conditions.
Where to Report Complaints of Whistleblower Retaliation
- RRB Office of Inspector General Hotline at hotline@oig.rrb.gov
- The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) - OSC is an independent agency enforcing whistleblower protections, safeguarding the merit system and providing a secure channel for whistleblower disclosures. Information on filing a complaint with OSC may be found at www.osc.gov.
- The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) - Certain employees may be able to appeal directly to MSPB. More information on whistleblower MSPB appeals is available at www.mspb.gov/appeals/whistleblower.htm.
Whistleblower Coordinator
If you have questions about whistleblower rights and remedies, please contact Patricia Marshall, the RRB Whistleblower Protection Coordinator (who also serves as General Counsel to the RRB Inspector General) at (312) 751-4690 or by e-mail at hotline@oig.rrb.gov.