What is prohibited under the Whistleblower Protection Act?
It is unlawful for a federal official to take or threaten to take a personnel action (i.e. suspension, demotion, reassignment, transfer, or removal) against you because of a protected disclosure. A protected disclosure is information that you reasonably believe to be evidence of a violation of law, rule or regulation or gross waste of government funds, gross mismanagement, an abuse of authority or a substantial and specific threat to public health or safety. It is also unlawful under the Act for an official to take or threaten to take a personnel action, due to a protected disclosure. Other personnel actions include performance evaluations and any benefit of employment such as leave, promotion, training, pay, or other benefits. What must I show to prove that I have been retaliated against? You must prove that you made a protected disclosure and that as a result of that protected disclosure an agency official took an adverse action against you. Usually you will need to show that the age
