Legal Briefs: A whistleblowing success

Every Friday on GovExec.com, Legal Briefs reviews several cases that involve, or provide valuable lessons to, federal managers. We report on the decisions of a wide range of review panels, including the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Federal Labor Relations Authority and federal courts.

When Mary D. Harris realized that unsafe practices were taking place at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, she did something about it. In fact, Harris disclosed a decade's worth of ignored safety standards to the Office of Special Counsel, which protects federal employees who blow the whistle on mismanagement and violations of law.

Harris' allegations were taken seriously. As an expert in the field of of electromagnetic interference (EMI), she alleged that unsafe practices within the space shuttle program were a threat to public safety.

EMI safety regulations, which prevent interferences among space shuttle systems that could cause system failures, were routinely ignored, Harris said.

As a result of her testimony, OSC required NASA to investigate the allegations. NASA's report concluded that the Harris' concerns were valid. The agency committed to improving its safety standards for EMI.

Lesson: Good results do come from whistleblower allegations.

Office of Special Counsel investigative report, Dec. 6, 1999

Homebound

Russell E. Yates, a computer engineer at NASA in Houston, was asked to go to Tampa to work on a project last March. Rather than fly, Yates drove his motorhome to Florida and parked it in a campground. Rather than stay in a hotel, Yates stayed in his motorhome during his four days in Tampa.

Yates submitted to NASA a request for reimbursement of his travel and lodging expenses. For the travel expenses, NASA agreed only to reimburse him what he would have paid had he flown to Tampa, since that would have been a less expensive option than traveling by motorhome. For the lodging expenses, NASA agreed to reimburse him the cost of the campground.

Yates appealed NASA's decision on the lodging expenses, charging that the agency should reimburse him as if he had stayed in a hotel while in Tampa. Federal travel rules (FTR 301-70.105) say that when an employee decides to travel in a personal vehicle, he can be reimbursed "the sum of per diem and transportation expenses the employee would reasonably have incurred when traveling by the authorized method of transportation."

If Yates had traveled by plane, he would have had to stay in a hotel, the General Services Board of Contract Appeals pointed out. Given the travel regulations, the board ordered NASA to reimburse Yates as if he had stayed in a hotel.

Lesson: When it comes to travel expenses, reading the regs can help you outwit your agency.

In the matter of Russell E. Yates, General Services Administration Board of Contract Appeals (GSBCA 15109-TRAV), Nov. 30, 1999.