WASHINGTON – ?After raising questions about the FBI’s use of Loss of Effectiveness orders, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today expressed guarded support for the Bureau’s recent announcement providing notice and opportunity for response to FBI employees who faced these possible management-directed reassignments. Prior to the FBI’s new policy, employees were not notified if they were the subject of an LOE order, nor given an opportunity to respond.
“Notifying FBI employees that management recommends their transfer, and allowing them a chance to respond is the least the Bureau can do to improve transparency and fairness for its employees. A number of whistleblowers claim that Loss of Effectiveness orders have been used as a means of retaliation, with no avenue for appeal, so this new policy is a step in the right direction. I still have serious questions about the purpose of Loss of Effectiveness orders as the Bureau already has other tools at its disposal to address work performance and office efficiency. I have asked GAO to provide details on the utility of Loss of Effectiveness orders to ensure employees are afforded appropriate opportunities for appeal,” Grassley said.
The FBI’s announced policy change came just weeks after Grassley’s request for a GAO study on the use of LOEs and the day before the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on FBI whistleblower policies, where former whistleblowers testified that the FBI used LOEs to retaliate against them without providing recourse for appeal. GAO recently issued a report underscoring challenges FBI employees face when disclosing waste or misconduct. In a recent letter to the Department of Justice Inspector General, Grassley asked for an explanation of the utility of LOEs as well as details on how allegations of misconduct by employees at the FBI have been addressed in recent years.
Grassley began raising questions about LOE orders last year after several FBI whistleblowers alleged that the orders were used as a means of retaliation and discrimination.
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