Office of Special Counsel and Inspector Generals

At times, arranging an internal investigation may be more fruitful for an employee than filing a grievance, complaint or appeal of an adverse action – the question most employees have is “how?” The agency tasked with conducting such investigations, the Office of Special Counsel, is comprised of prosecutors and investigators. Every agency’s Inspector General provides a similar function. Unfortunately, because the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is required to investigate complaints of violations of the Whistleblower Protection Act, OSC is frequently not called upon until after a Federal employee has filed a grievance, complaint, or appeal, and the agency has provided its response.  By this time, the Office of Special Counsel’s job becomes a game of distinguishing right and wrong in a battle of “employee-say, agency-say.”

Permitting our attorneys to file the appropriately styled, substantively composed Inspector General or Office of Special Counsel complaint in lieu of, or prior to, filing a grievance, complaint, or appeal, gives the Inspector General or Office of Special Counsel the opportunity to fulfill its true function of independently and surreptitiously conducting undercover investigations and prosecuting confidential complaints.