May 9, 2017. Washington, D.C. Congressional oversight leaders obtained an internal memo sent, on May 3, from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) instructing employees to inform the agency before communicating independently with Congress.
Continue Reading Congressional Leaders Call on HHS Secretary to Clarify Employees’ Free Speech Rights
Dr. Duane Bonds has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court this week. Dr. Bonds was our nation’s top researcher on sickle cell disease until she blew the whistle on the unauthorized cloning of participants’ cells. In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that she had a right to
On Monday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of a sickle cell disease researcher who blew the whistle on improper cloning of blood cell lines. The decision clears the way Dr. Duane Bonds (pictured) to proceed with her claim that the National Institutes of Health fired her in retaliation for blowing the whistle on the improper cloning of cell lines without consent.
This is the first case in which a federal employee will be allowed to pursue a whistleblower lawsuit in federal district court. Dr. Bonds’ attorney is Michael Kohn, president of the National Whistleblowers Center. Kohn said: “This decision expands the rights of some federal workers to pursue their whistleblower claims in federal district courts around the country. Unfortunately, since Congress continues to treat federal employees as second-class citizens this right is only available to federal employees who are able to bring a race, sex, age, national origin or religion claim in conjunction with a whistleblower claim. Otherwise, a federal employee has no right to a federal court hearing.”
Continue Reading NIH Whistleblower Wins Right to Federal Court Trial