National Defense Contractors’ Employees Now Have a Whistle

4514 Cole Ave, #600 | Dallas, Texas 75205

Call Kardell Law Group 214-306-8045

The 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), effective July 1, 2013, now offers employees of subcontractors with defense contracts the protection of the federal whistleblowing laws. Before the new law, subcontractors could only take their complaints of fraud or government waste to their bosses and not to a government office.

Enhancing whistleblower protection for subcontractor employees

There are significant changes in Section 844 of the 2013 NDAA that affect how subcontractor employees blow their whistles:

Subcontractors and employers must notify employees in writing of the new whistleblower provisions.
Disclosures protected under law now include abuse of authority complaints. This refers to arbitrary exercise of authority that is inconsistent with the defense department’s mission.
Whistleblowers may now make disclosures to a member of Congress, an inspector general, a government accountability office, a court or grand jury, an official of the Department of Justice (DOJ), or any other management official possessing the power to investigate, uncover or address misconduct.

With additional channels now open to receive complaints of governmental misconduct, the defense department investigator general’s office has increased its staff to properly handle additional complaints.

Limitations of changes

The new provisions are not retroactive. Defense contracts signed and task orders added before July 1, 2013 are not bound by the changes in the law.

The new law in effect

When employees of a defense subcontractor witness the destruction of quantities of usable equipment, they may want to stop the waste and report the violations. Previously, such employees could only make a complaint to their superiors. Under the new provisions effective July 1, 2013, the employees can file a formal complaint to any inspector general, member of Congress, DOJ official or any other party listed in the new section.

The new whistleblower provisions of the NDAA still need to be implemented by defense subcontractors. If you are a subcontractor who witnessed government waste or other misconduct, call your Dallas-Fort Worth whistleblower lawyer to discuss your complaint.

By Admin | Published October 21, 2013 | Posted in Employee Rights | Tagged National Defense Authorization Act

Cancel reply

Awards & Honors

Our Office

Dallas Office
4514 Cole Ave
#600
Dallas, Texas 75205
Phone: 214-306-8045
Fax: 469-729-9926

Testimonials

"Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission." -Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower
"Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone." -V.B.
"Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope. In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them." -KS
"Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best." -S.S.