DoD IG's Office Protects Whistleblowers

By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2014 - Military and civilian personnel who expose wrongdoing in the government should not become victims, said Nilgun Tolek, the director of whistleblower reprisal investigation at the DoD Inspector General's Office here.

The common understanding of a whistleblower "is somebody who brings wrongdoing to light in general," Tolek said during a recent interview.

Tolek is in charge of ensuring that people who disclose wrongdoing are not reprised against for their actions.

Whistleblower protections

"Under the Military Whistleblower Protection Law, a military member is protected -- across the board -- for any kind of communication with an inspector general or a Member of Congress, as long as it is a lawful communication," she said. Civilians -- including DoD appropriated and nonappropriated fund employees, as well as contractor and sub-contractor personnel -- are similarly protected.

Commanders and supervisors cannot retaliate against people who make these lawful communications, she said. If they do, it is reprisal.

Tolek steps in when those who have made protected communications or disclosures allege they were retaliated against. Her group of around 45 investigators looks at each case to determine if reprisal occurred. Reprisals generally take the form of adverse personnel actions -- demoting a person or reassigning them to a lesser job -- or by the complainant not getting a favorable personnel action -- denying a regular pay raise or promotion.

Investigator involvement

Obviously, investigators look at when a complainant made allegations and when adverse actions occurred. They also examine the case to see if the superior knew or suspected that the complainant was the one speaking to the IG or a Member of Congress.

"If there is any possible inference of the circumstances described to us by the complainant that one was a factor in the other, then we call that a prima facie allegation and that would cause us to investigate," Tolek said.

Her group received slightly less than 1,300 complaints in fiscal 2013 and that number is running a bit higher this year. For military personnel, investigations are to be completed within 180 days. However, investigations often take longer and Tolek must notify the office of the Secretary of Defense when that occurs.

Approval of conclusions

Some of the cases the office receives are referred to the service or agency IGs, once Tolek's investigators determine there is prima facie evidence. Once those offices complete their investigations, they send the conclusions to Tolek to approve their results.

"We do all contractor and sub-contractor and non-appropriated fund employees," she said. There have been recent changes to the law that include protections to sub-contractors.

Tolek emphasized that no one is required to exhaust their chain of command before making a whistleblower complaint.

"Even if there are internal channels you can go directly outside," she said. "The statute for military members has a provision [that] no one can restrict a military member from speaking to an IG or a Member of Congress."

If reprisal is proven, the IG recommends to the head of the agency "that the person be made whole and we actually specify what has to happen," she said. The office also recommends "appropriate corrective action against the person who took the action against the whistleblower."