U.S. Office of Special Counsel  1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218  Washington, D.C. 20036-4505

SPECIAL COUNSEL BLOCH RESPONDS TO GAO REPORT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 4/12/04
CONTACT: CATHY DEEDS
(202) 254-3600                  

     Consistent with the recommendations of a March 2004 GAO report to Congress, The Office of Special Counsel has begun an aggressive strategy to undertake a priority review of all its older and backlogged whistleblower disclosures and prohibited personnel practice complaints filed with the Agency that have lagged in the system.

     Scott J. Bloch, who was sworn in as new Special Counsel in January 2004, welcomed the findings and began a comprehensive assessment that includes reviewing the statutory time limits and procedures and fairly resolving all the pending cases by the end of the year. In addition, a new Special Projects Unit devoted chiefly to reducing the backlogs in the Agency and developing procedures to better maintain caseload was recently created.

     “We cannot sit by and let these complaints go unheard for so long,” Bloch said. “My promise to federal employees whose cases have been unanswered is that I will ask our best attorneys and staff to fairly and completely review your cases and make a timely recommendation for resolution. We look forward to working with Congress to address the concerns of aggrieved federal employees and to judiciously handle these cases. I intend to propose methods to ensure that these unacceptable delays in processing of employee complaints will never occur again.”

     The Office of Special Counsel is an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency. Its primary mission is to safeguard the merit system in federal employment by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially retaliation for whistleblowing. OSC also has jurisdiction over the Hatch Act and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).