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DOE Whistleblowers

 Charles E. Grassley

Ranking Member
Committee on the Budget

April 26, 2024

DOE Whistleblowers

https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/grassley_to_doe_-_whistleblower_protections_open_gao_recs_from_2016.pdf

Comments

Anonymous said…
If you can point to a worker bee for a safety mistake, it becomes a “lessons learned”. If you can point to management on a safety policy or practice, it is a lessons litigated, and shelved, end of story. Unless of course, the matter actually becomes an expensive WIPP environmental disaster. Leading from behind, and very avoidable.
Anonymous said…
In 2014, there was a preventable radiological release at the nuclear Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) due to management failures leading to a ~500 million dollar tax payer funded clean up, and a ~90% annual award fee hair cut for LANS. The subsequent accident reports state workers were reluctant to raise safety concerns on the WIPP project because they were afraid to be assigned sh_t work if they dare do so.

Amazingly, both LANL Director McMillan, and NNSA Los Alamos Field Office Manager Lebak, both kept their jobs until LANS was finally ousted in favor of Triad, who won the contract to manage LANL in 2018.
Anonymous said…
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”

-Edmund Burke

Don’t rationalize being a spectator when your fellow employees are being persecuted.
Anonymous said…
If you have direct knowledge, of a Lab employee that was in some way “abused”, or not treated in “good faith” in the workplace recently or in times past, that may have led to a whistleblower wrongful termination, perhaps with appearances meant to show otherwise…, reach out to both the DOE IG and the GAO with your observations.
Anonymous said…
If an employer is permitted (funded) to direct, produce, cast, and edit, all matters related to a whistleblower, including unfortunately in some cases, resulting suicides, nothing will change. Employers know, directing focus to a paragraph of events, is better than having a reader become knowledgeable of the chapters prior. Unless this practice changes, expect more of the same…Yes, this includes LLNS, families that have been impacted by unscrupulous LLNS managers looking to get ahead at whatever cost, has been the case for over 10 years. Sorry if this opinion conflicts with Glassdoor.
Anonymous said…
"Mr. Barnett’s last words make clear that while Boeing may not have pulled the trigger, the company is responsible for his death," Barnett's lawyers, Robert Turekwitz and Brian Knowles, said in a joint statement Tuesday.

In 2012, “Scott”, a LLNS NIF technician, committed suicide,and his division level managers elected to deflect this tragedy to HR instead of actually addressing what happened. Pathetic leadership in favor of personal gain. This is LLNL under LLNS control. Saying “we just did what we were told”, probably doesn’t sit well with the daughters Scott left behind…
Anonymous said…
The cross roads decision here is either one recognizes a dismissive administrative approach does not always end well for employees, where an admission of poor policy occurs, and corrective action is necessary, or, one simply doubles down on their managerial approach, and makes no effort to prevent new stressful situations. No “lessons learned” as we say at the labs.
Anonymous said…
5/20 @ 5:44… where does an employee really have a place to turn.

Go above your supervisor… well look into it.

Staff relations… no reply


At some point I gather under Kim’s regime some problems or apparently some “unimportant” slaves i mean hourly employees that speak up about not wanting to work for free and become problem people would hopefully just go away.
Anonymous said…
Got to wonder if Scott’s daughters are aware of how Scott was actually treated by LLNS management prior to his tragic loss.
Anonymous said…
Maybe Scott’s family made a legal “gag order” agreement with Scott’s relatives, so to LLNS, this is no longer an issue.
Anonymous said…
LLNS driven gag order? Could be true. But, did those LLNS NIF managers involved, and their peer LLNS managers across LLNL, change their employee interaction approach, or, due to the gag order protection, still bully LLNS employees by way of “we are never wrong”tactics?
Anonymous said…
from an older post:


“In 2009 a LLNS employee was unfortunately ran over by his own vehicle and died. There was a “lessons learned” afterward. Not revealed at the time, was this employee had just been “Niffed” (unilaterally let go from his NIF assignment) and was in the process of moving to a new office. Very sad. Did LLNS employment polices change as a result of that 2009 tragedy?”

You really want to work here?

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