Whistleblowers: Disclosures and Retaliation Complaints to Pandemic Auditors
| Report Type |
Reports and Testimonies |
| Report Date |
Feb. 13, 2024 |
| Release Date |
Feb. 13, 2024 |
| Report No. |
GAO-24-106655 |
Summary:
What GAO Found
Officials from the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR), the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), and the Integrity Committee of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) told GAO the following about protections against retaliation for contractor and grantee whistleblowers:
SIGPR. Contractor and grantee whistleblowers who make disclosures to SIGPR are protected against retaliation under federal law.
PRAC. The law is ambiguous about whether contractor and grantee whistleblowers who make disclosures to PRAC are protected against retaliation, in part because the CARES Act granted PRAC authorities similar to those of entities that can receive protected disclosures.
CIGIE Integrity Committee. The committee has not addressed the question of whether protections against retaliation for contractor and grantee whistleblowers apply to disclosures to the committee, because the committee has not received complaints subject to its authority that refer to these protections.
These officials also told GAO that they are not aware of having received any disclosures or retaliation complaints from federal contractor or grantee whistleblowers.
Why GAO Did This Study
The Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 includes a provision for GAO to review the application of whistleblower protections to disclosures by contractor and grantee employees to SIGPR, PRAC, and the CIGIE Integrity Committee. This report describes the entities' views on the scope of whistleblower protections for contractor and grantee employees, the number of disclosures they have received, and the entities' procedures for handling such disclosures.
GAO reviewed information from SIGPR, PRAC, and the CIGIE Integrity Committee about disclosures and retaliation complaints from contractor and grantee whistleblowers. GAO also interviewed officials from these entities, including attorneys and staff at each entity who handle intake and analyze hotline tips.
For more information, contact Yvonne D. Jones at (202) 512-6806 or JonesY@gao.gov.
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