U.S. Office of Special Counsel  1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 201  Washington, D.C. 20036-4505

SPECIAL COUNSEL ELAINE KAPLAN SUBMITS LETTER OF RESIGNATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 5/12/03
CONTACT: JANE MCFARLAND
(202) 653-7984               

    Today, Special Counsel Elaine D. Kaplan announced that she would be resigning from her position as head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) effective June 2, 2003. Ms. Kaplan was nominated to serve a five-year term as Special Counsel by President Clinton, and has served in that position since May of 1998. 

    In a letter to President George W. Bush, she stated, “It has been an honor and privilege for me to serve as Special Counsel since of May of 1998. While the agency is relatively small, its work is central to the merit-based civil service, particularly through its efforts to protect federal employee whistleblowers against retaliation and to oversee the investigations of their disclosures of wrongdoing.”

    Ms. Kaplan noted that “in these times of heightened concern about national security, it is very important that OSC be viewed as a credible, non-partisan advocate on behalf of whistleblowers.” She stated that she hoped “this goal, among others, has been achieved during my tenure, and that it will continue to be given a high priority.”

    Upon her departure, Ms. Kaplan will be joining the Washington, D.C. law firm of Bernabei and Katz, as “of counsel.” Bernabei and Katz is a nationally recognized firm that specializes in employment law, sexual harassment law, whistleblower law, and civil rights and civil liberties matters. 

    Timothy Hannapel, who has served as Deputy Special Counsel during Ms. Kaplan’s tenure, also announced that he will be departing OSC, effective June 2, 2003. Mr. Hannapel will be joining the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) in NTEU’s Office of General Counsel. NTEU – where Mr. Hannapel had previously served for nine years – is the nation’s largest independent union representing federal workers.

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