ID:

423

Date:

2009-05-31

Headline:

Whistle-blower's widow battles for records

Reporter's name:

Kate Golden

Delay/denial:

No

Lawsuit:

Yes

Fees:

Yes

Media outlet:

Juneau Empire

City:

Juneau, AK

Summary:

Records released after the death of a whistleblower included an email from a U.S. Forest Service official with ethics and personnel-related duties, advising an employee to destroy documents because they would be accessible in upcoming litigation. The documents revealed correspondence among supervisory staff about how to discipline the whistleblower without having any such actions appear to be retaliatory. Soon thereafter, the whistleblower lost his job in a wide-ranging downsizing.

Notes:

UPDATE: A federal judge ordered the U.S. Forest Service to pay the legal fees of the widow of deceased whistleblower Glen Ith (Juneau Empire, 6/14/09, "Forest Service will pay legal fees for whistleblower's widow" http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/061409/loc_450839427.shtml).

Keywords:

whistleblower, retaliation, retaliatory, forest service, ethics, personnel records

URL:

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/053109/loc_445612349.shtml

Agencies:

FS
OSC
USDA

States:

AK

Categories:

environment
labor