Imagine you are a politician who likes friends on Facebook?  Think Weiner.  Weiner was no friend but was he the enemy?  For some, yes.  But who would want to hold him closer? Imagine you are the client of a lawyer who uses Twitter.  Suddenly you learn that your name and discussion of your case was [...]

Excellent article in the Sacramento Bee regarding a discrimination case.  montgomery-county-jury-awards.html ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 28, 2011 — Verdict, Recognizing a New U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Puts Abusive Employers on Notice and Provides Hope for Victimized Workers This case moves forward discrimination claims against employers who retaliate.  Here, Donna Jackson worked for Edgewood Management Corporation for [...]

 Moral Leadership Takes Awareness and Practice to Create a Culture of Trust by Frank Bucaro When I started to focus on the morality of business and leadership in my research, I surveyed some past clients for their definition of moral awareness.  One of the most striking definitions I received was the following: “Moral awareness is [...]

ETHICS: HONESTY IN ACTION. By Frank C. Bucaro “Neither by nature, then, nor contrary to nature do the virtues arise in us; rather we are adapted by nature to receive them, and are made perfect by habit.” Aristotle. We can grow and expand in our virtuous behavior through habit.  Values are a code of internal [...]

housing-agency-ig-report-slams-135-billion-settlement-with-boa.html Great article from The Blog of Legal Times, BLT titled; “Housing Agency IG Report Slams $1.35 Billion Settlement with BoA.”  Some salient quotes: “Linick’s office today released a report sharply criticizing FHFA managers for approving a $1.35 billion settlement in December 2010 with Bank of America for selling shoddy mortgages to Freddie Mac, saying [...]

whistleblowers-touring-classes-to-speak-about-decisions-and-reputations-at-lied-1.2638798#.ToHcbezoaSq The import of having individuals who risk their jobs and personal security to make public interest disclosures cannot be underestimated.  As a society, without whistleblowers we might never learn about dangerous health and safety violations, disregard for the rule of law and flagrant abuse of authority.  However, the cost to the whistleblower is great [...]

I am pleased to announce that we have formed a collaboration with Government Accountability Project (GAP) to provide lawyer referral services.  Anyone needing assistance may contact info@whistlewatch.org.  GAP may be contacted directly at this site.  www.whistleblower.org

In the words of colleague Tom Devine, this case doesn’t stand the puke test.  2 years and heap of money spent on what seems to be a simple situation of a school employee doing their job only to find herself the subject of scrutiny and forced out.  Investigative report courtesy of TCPalm.  http://web.tcpalm.com/2011/09/quinn-lunny.pdf   Well done [...]

Every time I read another Countrywide whistleblower article, I think of our own Michael G. Winston, Executive Vice President and Chief Leadership Officer.  However, that is about the only thread between the two.  This article published by The Center for Public Integrity, countrywide-protected-fraudsters-silencing-whistleblowers-say-former-employees tells yet another tale of corruption and fraud by the people working [...]

complain.html We are receiving a lot of inquiries on health, safety and whistleblower retaliation with questions about OSHA.  Below, please find some information.  Should anyone need direct assistance, please enter the “Help and Safe Harbor” secure system.  Whistlewatch.org will take an anonymous report and contact government officials and if needed, the media to protect the [...]

It is with great pleasure that I announce, Robert J. MacLean has joined the Board of Directors of the Brown Center for Public Policy.  I’ve known Bob for several years.  He has extensive expertise on federal employment whistleblower matters.  In my opinion, Bob is champion of safety and security protections for the public.  It is [...]

PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202515134508 Article reveals a very unsavory way the SEC allowed David M. Becker, general counsel to recommend how victims of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme would be compensated.  Problem?  Yes, because Becker inherited part of an account that was directly connected. “David Becker, the former general counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission, “participated personally [...]

  The IRS offers rewards for information about taxes owed over $2M. With Mandatory rewards of between 15-30% There is another program for lesser tax amounts but that program does not provide for mandatory rewards. For additional information, please check the IRS Website.  0,,id=180171,00.html Found this new article published in Forbes today very interesting.  http://blogs.forbes.com/peterjreilly/?p=2512

My flight back to California began wondering if anyone was reading the website who cared about the issues we raise and supported whistleblowing.  The previous weekend was fraught with spam attacks to the website.  After being placed on notice by another whistleblower advocacy group their website content had been deleted by hackers, I had to [...]

I am pleased to present this news story sent to me courtesy of GAP.  http://www.whistleblower.org/ Obama-Pushes-for-Whistle-Blower-Bill-208883-1.html?pos=hbtxt As CEO and President of The Brown Center for Public Policy, I urge everyone to contact their Congressional representatives to endorse the enhanced whistle-blower-protection bill.  Our heartfelt congratulations to GAP, our colleagues for spearheading the movement.  This is progress!

Whistle-Blowing…Getting at the Root Cause By Michael G. Winston Two decades ago, James Kouzes and Barry Posner reported on their research polling 15,000 managers about the most essential ingredient in the equation for successful leadership.  The most important trait was “honesty”. This was cited by 87% of respondents. Also in the top ten were “straightforward” [...]

OSHA20111351.htm “It’s clear from our investigation that Bank of America used illegal retaliatory tactics against this employee,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels. “This employee showed great courage reporting potential fraud and standing up for the rights of other employees to do the same.” This is a very important ruling by OSHA.  OSHA’s past [...]

I am pleased to announce that Rick Shaw, our Chief Awareness Officer and Treasurer received an award from Risk & Insurance Magazine.  The higher education innovation award was bestowed for developing software to help colleges identify threats of campus violence.  Rick also developed the secure software platform for our “Help and Safe Harbor” system here [...]

Yesterday, we had the privilege and honor to meet Tom Devine, legal director, Government Accountability Project (GAP) in D.C.  For over 3 decades, Devine has championed the rights of whistleblowers defending 5,000+ people against corporate giants and federal agencies alike.  His work in the field of rights advocacy is legendary.   My request to meet with [...]

We met with Jason Zuckerman, Office of Special Counsel (OSC) yesterday.  The purpose was to discuss collaboration, whistleblower challenges and ways to improve the OSC in keeping with it’s mission as the federal agency protecting fed whistleblowers.  After a decade of doing diddly squat for federal service whistleblowers and in the wake of the Bloch [...]