Professionals for the Public Interest

The number of whistleblowers within federal agencies has spiked radically, but leaders need to continue nurturing a culture that promotes ethical behavior, said panelists at a recent discussion.

“We are seeing a huge increase now in people who blow the whistle,” said Jason Zuckerman, senior legal adviser to the special counsel at the Office of Special Counsel. “We are getting about 2,800 in prohibited personnel practice complaints annually; two years ago, it was about 2,200. In 2002, it was about 1,600.”  Read more…

By Camille Tuutti, Federal Computer Week

It has been 17 months since Jack B. Palmer first made a quiet complaint through internal channels at Infosys, the giant Indian outsourcing company he works for, saying he suspected some managers were committing visa fraud. Since then, Mr. Palmer says, he has been harassed by superiors and co-workers, sidelined with no work assignment, shut out of the company’s computers, denied bonuses and hounded by death threats.  Read more…

By Julia Preston, The New York Times

The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps has a long and proud tradition.

The agency’s Web site rightly promotes its staff as “an elite team of more than 6,500 full-time, well-trained, highly qualified public health professionals” who are “driven by a passion for public service . . . on the frontlines in the Nation’s fight against disease and poor health conditions.”  Read more…

A senior Senate Republican has launched an investigation into the Food and Drug Administration’s secret e-mail monitoring of scientists who warned that unsafe medical devices were approved over their objections, saying whistleblowers often are treated “like skunks at a picnic.” Read more…

By Lisa Rein and Ellen Nakashima

Washington Post