Government Whistleblowers
Whistleblowers play an instrumental role in ensuring that public employees are allowed to serve the public interest. At Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, our attorneys often defend employees who risk their careers by reporting government misconduct. In addition to the firm’s successes in demanding accountability at the FBI, the EPA and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, our attorneys have defended employees throughout the federal government.
Responsibility and Ethics in Government Contracting: KKC is currently representing Ms. Bunnatine Greenhouse, the former top contracting officer for the Army Corps of Engineers, in a federal lawsuit, Greenhouse v. Harvey. Ms. Greenhouse was harassed and demoted when she blew the whistle on a $7 billion "emergency" contract that was improperly awarded to Halliburton/KBR in the run-up to the Iraq war.
There has been extensive media coverage of Ms. Greenhouse's case. Click here to view.
Free Speech for Federal Employees: In Sanjour v. EPA, our attorneys successfully represented two federal workers and a public-interest organization, thus establishing the First Amendment right of federal employees to engage in outside speaking activities, regardless of their viewpoints. The case led to a nationwide injunction prohibiting the federal government from enforcing speech-related travel restrictions on its employees.
Sanjour v. EPA, 56 F.3d 85 (D.C. Cir. 1995)(en banc)
The Right to File in Federal Court: In Ikossi v. Winter, our client set the precedent that whistleblowers whose cases also involve discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race or national origin can file their claims as a "mixed case" in federal court, with the right to a jury trial.
Ikossi v. England, 406 F. Supp. 2d 23. (D.D.C. 2005)