Big business groups managed to get enforcement of the new law vested with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a notoriously toothless agency in the Labor Department.

. . .only 13 out of 491 employees who filed complaints with OSHA found any sort of relief for their claims of retaliation and other repercussions resulting from blowing the whistle. Only six succeeded on appeal.

I’m finally coming out about my past. Four years ago, I was a non-frivolous whistleblower assaulted while at the Department of Labor. And I’ve got news for you. Under the Whistleblower Protection Act, whistleblowers are not protected from much. For instance, they are not protected from assault. (Yes, I have the legal documentation and can back this up) Fortunately for private sector employees, they may be covered by tort. Public sector employees are not covered by tort, and are in no man’s land.

I briefly read the proposal, and my concern with the bill is not with the intent, but with the teeth. Until the court system is fixed, this bill is useless and misleading to anyone who may make a disclosure. I read with skepticism, the words “administrative judge.” An administrative judge, to me, is a person unable or unwilling to work the lucrative life of a attorney. An administrative judge is a person who wants to make a quick decision for his employer and go home at the end of the day. And his employer is the government.

You make mention of the Mother Jones article, which was an excellent one. I recommend it to anyone looking into the enormity of the problem that exists today. I refer to DEA agent Sandalio Gonzalez, whose disclosure of murder was dismissed without investigation. After a quarter of a decade of dedicated service, he retired after being transferred and retaliated against. I assure you that the small financial settlement he received was nothing compared to the betrayal felt, or the shock of finding that these lengthy statutes meant nothing.

Thanks to you, I will look into this proposed bill more closely. However, assurances that the Secretary of Labor will be the overseer does nothing to elicit my support. I spent $50,000 of my own money protecting the freedom that Americans enjoy while she and her thugs fought us every inch of the way. It was only after we published the hearing transcript on the internet that she start issuing statements disclaiming retaliation and finally allowed me to do my job.

By the way, I’ve started a new blog with some thoughts on the process, called “Government Accountability is a Citizen’s Responsibility.” It can be found at: http://www.fedhallofshame.com.