Reviving the Whistleblower Protection Act for Civil Service Employees

Tom Devine, Legal Director | Government Accountability Project

Since 1979 Tom Devine has been the Government Accountability Project’s legal director. Tom has assisted over 9,000 whistleblowers and not lost a case since 2006. He also has been on the front lines for passage and oversight of 38 whistleblower laws, including nearly all U.S. federal laws and internationally from Serbia to the UN, and most recently the EU Whistleblower Directive and Ukraine’. He is an adjunct professor at the DC Law School, has been recognized annually since 2012 by the Metropolitan Washington Lawyer’s Association as one of Washington DC’s top employment lawyers, appears regularly as a media expert, has authored numerous books and law journals, and spoken in over a dozen nations as the State Department’s informal “Ambassador of Whistleblowing.”

• Education & Credentials

Tom is a Phi Beta Kappa honors graduate of Georgetown University, where he was an All American debater and captained a team that set a still-standing national record for tournament championships. He earned his J.D. from the Antioch School of Law.

• Recognition & Leadership

Tom’s 2011 book, The Corporate Whistleblowers Survival Guide: A Handbook for Committing the Truth, won the 2012 International Business Book of the Year Award at the Frankfurt Book Fair. He is the recipient of the Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award and the Defender of the Constitution Award bestowed by the Fund for Constitutional Government, and in 2006 he was inducted into the Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame.

• Professional Involvement

Tom serves on the board of Whistleblowing International Network, the global coalition he helped to found, and on the board of the Disaster Accountability Project. His other publications include Courage Without Martyrdom: The Whistleblower’s Survival Guide and chapters in numerous books, law review articles, magazine articles, and newspaper op-eds.

• Experience

Tom has led campaigns to pass or defend whistleblower laws including the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 for federal employees, thirteen laws since 2002 creating jury-trial rights for corporate whistleblowers, and the European Union Whistleblower Directive, along with United Nations, Organization of American States, World Bank, and African Development Bank policies legalizing public freedom of expression for their own whistleblowers. In his casework he has prevailed in advocacy at numerous U.S. courts of appeals as well as the Supreme Court, and his clients’ disclosures have produced results ranging from the shutdown of accident-prone nuclear power plants to a national commercial milk testing program for illegal animal drugs and the withdrawal of dangerous prescription drugs such as Vioxx. He has traveled to 36 countries for whistleblower rights advocacy and has served as a technical expert for the drafting or advocacy of additional whistleblower laws and policies in nations ranging from Liberia and Tunisia to Great Britain and Italy.

David Seide, Of Counsel | Government Accountability Project

David Seide serves as Of Counsel for Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. His career spans four decades of government oversight and investigations work: he has served on the staffs of two federal Offices of Inspector General, where he led multiple highprofile investigations, and as Special Counsel to Senator Jeff Merkley.

• Education & Credentials

David holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law, an MPA from Princeton University, and a B.A. and M.A. in History from the University of Pennsylvania. He began his legal career in 1983 as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Morris E. Lasker.

• Recognition & Leadership

David received the Award for Excellence in Investigation from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE). He is the author of two books on investigations: Warning the Witness: A Guide to Internal Investigations and the Attorney-Client Privilege, published by the American Bar Association, and Navigating Multiple Government Investigations: Critical Issues and Guiding Principles.

• Professional Involvement

Before joining Government Accountability Project, David served as Special Counsel to Senator Jeff Merkley. His practice at Government Accountability Project also includes a specialization in immigration issues.

• Experience

David served on the staffs of two federal Offices of Inspector General — at the U.S. Department of State and the Federal Housing Finance Agency — where he led multiple high-profile investigations, including the State Department OIG’s evaluation of email records management and cybersecurity requirements in the Office of the Secretary. Earlier in his career, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, prosecuting white collar and securities fraud cases, and was a partner at multiple private law firms.

SESSION 1 – The Whistleblower Protection Act’s Credibility Crisis: The Global Legal Revolution, the Current Threats, and the Track Record | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

The Whistleblower Protection Act has been the pioneer for a global legal revolution in free speech rights. But the enforcement options are now so hostile to its objectives that responsible practitioners must warn potential clients that acting on their rights almost guarantees official approval of whatever retaliation they challenge. In a cycle of unprecedented political repression, the law’s credibility has been shattered through attacks on the constitutionality of Administrative Judges, as well as the Supreme Court’s Slaughter decision replacing structural independence with at will status for the Office of Special Counsel and Merit Systems Protection Board leadership. Further, realistically the law never has been free from political pressure.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – Tactics to Circumvent the Current Threat: Remedies from the Anti-Gag Statute and the Constitution | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

The presentation will examine the record for these conclusions and offer guidance how whistleblower counsel can circumvent them to still effectively defend their clients. This session delivers that guidance: tactics to circumvent the current threat through remedies from the anti-gag statute and the constitution, so counsel can continue to effectively defend civil service employees despite enforcement options now hostile to the law’s objectives.