Agitators alleging retribution by DHS after penning letters from FEMA
FEMA Whistleblowers Placed on Administrative Leave After Signing Dissent Letter
A public dissent letter, known as the "Katrina Declaration," signed by over 190 current and former FEMA employees in late August, has led to a series of controversial actions by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Among the signatories was Abby McIlraith, an emergency management specialist at FEMA, who was placed on administrative leave last week.
The letter, written by lawyers representing the FEMA staff, argues that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) violated whistleblower laws by placing employees on immediate, mandatory administrative leave for signing the dissent memo criticizing FEMA's COVID-19 vaccine mandate under DHS leadership.
The Katrina Declaration warns that changes at FEMA under the Trump administration, including personnel cuts, risk leaving the agency unprepared to deal with a major disaster. The letter states that DHS's actions amount to "illegal retaliatory personnel actions" and asks for an investigation and immediate corrective action, including full reinstatement.
Kevin Owen, a partner at Gilbert Employment Law, stated that if management immediately places employees on administrative leave after a whistleblower disclosure, it suggests there's smoke and fire. Owen typically assesses a client's motivation and whether they have evidence to back up their claims before deciding if the case has traction.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has come out strongly against the letter, saying the signatories are "the same bureaucrats who presided over decades of inefficiency are now objecting to reform." However, McIlraith stands by everything in the Katrina Declaration and has been alarmed by the firings of the EPA signers but does not regret signing the letter.
The EPA has a zero-tolerance policy for career officials using their agency position to undermine the will of the public. The EPA's spokesperson stated that the letter contains inaccurate information designed to mislead the public about agency business.
Employees who signed the letter were placed on administrative leave last week by FEMA. McIlraith said those who were placed on leave want to get back to work as soon as possible, especially amid the Atlantic hurricane season.
If the Office Special Counsel decides not to pick up the case or takes more than 120 days to make a decision, employees can go directly to the MSPB with whistleblower complaints.
Owen also mentioned that protected disclosures can be made public, as long as the information contained within them is not prohibited by law from being released. The whistleblower complaint argues that the FEMA dissent letter contains "multiple protected disclosures." Placing the employees on administrative leave, the complaint argues, violated whistleblower retaliation laws.
The letter is addressed to congressional committees, the Office of Special Counsel, and the DHS Office of the Inspector General. Empower Oversight, an organization that requests investigations into government misconduct, requested on September 28, 2023, that the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) investigate alleged violations of whistleblower protection laws after FEMA administrators reportedly placed employees on immediate, mandatory administrative leave for signing the dissent memo.
The Environmental Protection Agency has suspended some employees for two weeks without pay for signing the dissent letter. The situation continues to unfold, with the future of these employees and the integrity of FEMA's decision-making processes under scrutiny.
