Kenneth Delano, an Army civilian police officer, recently became aware of a situation in which he claims that other officers on the force were receiving more pay than they had earned. After he alerted his superiors to these actions, the Army attempted to fire him from his position.
The United States Office of Special Counsel protected Delano by putting a halt on his firing for 45 days in conjunction with the Merit Systems Protection Board. During that 45-day period, the OSC will conduct a thorough investigation into the claims made by Delano and into the circumstances that led to his firing and the alleged retaliation by the Army. The OSC released a statement claiming that there are “reasonable grounds” to think that retaliation was a contributing factor in the decision to fire Delano.
Delano reported the incidents in August 2013, telling the inspector general of the Department of Defense that other officers were receiving an extra $25,000 in pay. While the Army stopped that pay, Delano suddenly noticed instances of alleged retaliation against him. For instance, his patrol car suddenly suffered from problems with steering after being damaged, and the Army assigned one of the officers on whom Delano had blown the whistle to head up the investigation into the car. Delano asked for a different officer to perform the investigation on the grounds of it being a clear conflict of interest, and that request was denied.
Delano’s firing remains on hold pending the investigation into the case, and the Army has yet to comment on the incident.
If you believe that you have been the victim of wrongful termination due to your alerting authorities to suspected wrongdoing within your company or agency, speak with a Dallas whistleblower attorney from Whistleblower Law for Managers today to obtain legal representation and get advice about how you can proceed in your case.
