The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 (WPEA) Act helps ensure that USAID employees are protected from whistleblower retaliation. The WPEA established the Inspector General Whistleblower Ombudsman program, which Congress subsequently renamed the Whistleblower Protection Coordinator (WPC) program. WPC functions include:
- Educating USAID, Millennium Challenge Corporation, U.S. African Development Foundation, Inter-American Foundation, and, upon request, International Development Finance Corporation employees and managers about
- prohibitions on retaliation for protected disclosures and
- rights and remedies against retaliation for protected disclosures; and
- Coordinating with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, other agencies, and non-governmental organizations on relevant matters.
The WPC role is educational; the WPC cannot act as a legal representative, agent, or advocate for any individual whistleblower.
In addition to establishing the WPC role, under the WPEA,
- All covered federal employees are guaranteed the right to disclose information that the employee reasonably believes evidences: a violation of any law, rule, or regulation; gross mismanagement; gross waste of funds; an abuse authority; a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety; or censorship related to scientific research or analysis.
- Employees may make lawful disclosures to anyone in a position to address the problem, including, for example, management officials, OIG officials, and the Office of Special Counsel (OSC).
The OIG WPC is available to speak to components of the agencies that the OIG oversees and can be contacted at oigombud@usaid.gov.