There is no more compelling story than mine: I served as the health and safety coordinator for a division of the environmental agency I work for. Among other responsilbilities for the 200+ professionals that I served, I screened employees for eligibility for the newly-released Lyme Disease vaccination that the agency was making available to employees whose field work responsibilities on the job put them at risk for tick bites and Lyme Disease. Shortly after the screening process began, I was pressured by upper management in the agency to let certain non-eligible employees with no field work responsibilities get the series of shots, which cost approximately $150/person. I refused, citing the carefully thought-out eligibility criteria which had been developed for this program. As a result, I was summarily dismissed from my role as the Health and Safety Coordinator for this division, for refusing to knuckle under. I subsequently brought my concerns about how the program was being administered to the Inspector General, and their investigation corroborated my allegations of malfeasance. The agency was reprimanded, but I suffered for standing firm: Those very same officials in top management did their very best to retaliate against me over the next several years. Despite what some people think, whistleblower laws do not apply universally, and people like myself who try to carry out their jobs with integrity face crushing, morale-busting repercussions in the workplace for doing the right thing.

James, NY

Tags: Professional Integrity, Professionals for the Public Interest