Agenda - 11-15-2011 - 5i - Laserfiche WebLink

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24 Contract No. TJCOG-CBS-004 F. Protecting State and Local Government and Contractor Whistleblowers The requirements of Section 1553 of the Act are summarized below, They include, but aze not limited to: Prohibition on Reprisals: An employee of any non-Federal employer receiving covered funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-5, may not be discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for disclosing, including a disclosure made in the ordinary course of an employee's duties, to the Accountability and Transparency Board, an inspector general, the Comptroller General, a member of Congress, a State or Federal regulatory or law enforcement agency, a person with supervisory authority over the employee (or other person working for the employer who has the authority to investigate, discover or terminate misconduct, a court or grant jury, the head of a Federal agency, or their representatives information that the employee believes is evidence of: • gross management of an agency contract or grant relating to covered funds; • a gross waste of covered funds • a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety related to the implementation or use of covered funds; • an abuse of authority related to the implementation or use of covered funds; or • as violation of law, rule, or regulation related to an agency contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract) or grant, awarded or issued relating to covered funds. Agency Action: Not later than 30 days after receiving an inspector general report of an alleged reprisal, the head of the agency shall determine whether there is sufficient basis to conclude that the non-Federal employer has subjected the employee to a prohibited reprisal. The agency shall either issue an order denying relief in whole or in part of shall take one or more of the following actions: • Order the employer to take affirmative action to abate the reprisal. • Order the employer to reinstate the person to the position that the person held before the reprisal, together with compensation including hack pay, compensatory damages, employment benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment that would apply to the person in that position if the reprisal had not been taken. • Order the employer to pay the employee an amount equal to the aggregate amount of all costs and expenses (including attorneys' fees and expert witnesses' fees) that were reasonably incurred by the employee for or in connection with, bringing the complaint regarding the reprisal, as determined by the head of a court of competent jurisdiction. Nonenforceablity of Certain Provisions Waiving Rights and remedies or Requiring Arbitration: Except as provided in a collective bargaining agreement, the rights and remedies provided to aggrieved employees by this section may not be waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition of employment, including any predispute arbitration agreement No predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of a dispute arising out of this section. Requirement to Post Notice of Rights and Remedies: Any employer receiving covered funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-5, shall post notice of the rights and remedies as required therein. (Refer to section 1553 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-5, www.Recovery.gov, for specific requirements of this section and prescribed language for the notices.). G. RESERVED. H. False Claims Act Recipient and sub-recipients shall promptly refer to the DOE or other appropriate Inspector General any credible evidence that a principal, employee, agent, contractor, sub-grantee, subcontractor or other person has submitted a false claim under the False Claims Act or has committed a criminal or civil violation of laws pertaining to fraud, conflict or interest, bribery, gratuity or similar misconduct involving those funds. Page 20 of 34