Ruling throws cold water on environmental whistleblowers (Bush Labor Dept)

[rodeodance]

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/nation/17247431.htm

Posted on Fri, May. 18, 2007

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Ruling throws cold water on environmental whistleblowers
By David Goldstein
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - The sentence was buried deep within a recent Labor Department ruling, but the message was clear:

Whistleblowers, beware.

More specifically: Whistleblowers relying on the protections against official retaliation contained in several major environmental laws, proceed with caution.

The sentence was in a footnote at the end of a ruling against a federal whistleblower. It said the Labor Department recognized only the protections written into the clean air and solid waste-disposal acts, not laws governing clean water, drinking water, toxic substances and hazardous waste.