Va To Make Phoenix Whistleblowers Whole

[jcolwell]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 29, 2014

VA To Make Phoenix Whistleblowers Whole

WASHINGTON Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald today announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), working closely with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), has successfully resolved whistleblower retaliation complaints filed by three individuals from Phoenix.

At VA, we take whistleblower complaints seriously and will not tolerate retaliation against those who raise issues which may enable VA to better serve Veterans, said McDonald. We depend on VA employees and leaders to put the needs of Veterans first and honor VAs core values of Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence.

Based on the validity of their claims of retaliation, each whistleblower has settled their complaint with VA and two have accepted new positions within the Department.

Working with OSC, VA has taken several steps to strengthen whistleblower protection and enhance accountability within the organization. VA leadership has sent a message to all VA employees regarding the importance of whistleblower protection, has emphasized that managers and supervisors bear a special responsibility for enforcing whistleblower protection laws and has met with employees at VA Medical Centers across the country to reemphasize that message.

Additionally, VA is committed to achieving compliance with the OSC 2302 © Certification program, and has established the Office of Accountability Review with a direct reporting line to the Secretary. Its charter is to ensure leadership accountability for improprieties related to patient scheduling and access to care, whistleblower retaliation and related matters that impact public trust in VA.

###

[Berta]

Fox News just had a ticker that said VA "had settled' these issues with three whistleblowers.

I wonder which 3 and if Dr Foote is one of them,.since VA's attempt to denigrade his testimony at H VAC failed big time.

"Based on the validity of their claims of retaliation, each whistleblower has settled their complaint with VA and two have accepted new positions within the Department."I wonder what that really means.

Many years ago the director here at Bath got fired and then filed an EEOC complaint.I always wondered if it was due to a favorable Peer review he did regarding my FTCA case. But I ran into him one day and he told me no, not that at all, and was shocked that I had again been denied the FTCA. And even more shocked that VA said there was No report at all.

(I did win the FTCA without the report that VA said "Never existed". I found it in my C file years later and used it for 2 more claims.!) ('F' them)

But my point is he fought them hard, and not only got his job back but he suddenly retired instead and they had to pay him quite a bit in back wages,plus his FERS retirement cash

( his way of saying 'F' them ....he he)

I sure hope that the whistleblower protection act gets some punch to it.

[Vync]

I wonder if the whistle blowers had their office moved to the custodian closet in the basement. Making them 'whole' sounds to me like they should have been moved back to their original location in full.

[Berta]

Yeah...back to their original jobs!

Our esteemed member ASKNOD has a great take on all of this at:

http://asknod.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/va-reverses-course-unexpectedly-exonerates-whistleblowers/

Your reply reminds of of what happened to Maud De Victor, when VA shuffled her VA office into a broom closet,because she started researching Agent Orange in the late 1970s because of a VA patient who had a disability she felt was due to 'unnatural causes', aka the AO he was exposed to in Vietnam.

The movie with John Ritter, as the Vietnam, Vet and Patti Labelle,as Maud De Victors , called "Unnatural Causes" is based on this true story.

It is at Amazon video collection.I think Prime members can view it for free.

[Notorious Kelly]

Hate the grief you've been through, Berta, but love hearing your stories of winning the battle.

What horrific cabal of Evildoers run the VA and how do I find them?

[Vync]

Sometimes I wonder if P. T. Barnum is running things...

Will check out that movie on Amazon

[Navy04]

Eventually all the good folks at the VA will either quit or be run out, and the VA will be so bad, that the Govt will come in and start the VA all over again. At this point, I don't think that would be a bad idea.