Federal Agency Mechanisms That Encourage Dissent

Abstract

Under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA), Federal employees are provided legal protection against reprisal for ``whistleblowing.'' The intent of the legislation is to encourage Federal employees to report wrongdoing and to motivate Federal managers to deal constructively with that information, This paper examines the impact, to date, of the CSRA protections and suggests strategies for more effectively achieving the objectives of the legislation. It discusses: • the definition of ``whistleblowing'' under the CSRA; • the results of a 1980 survey by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board; • the results of a 1983 follow-up survey of 5000 Federal employees; • the preliminary results of a current MSPB study designed to identify alternative mechanisms that encourage constructive employee dissent. It is suggested that the antagonistic relationship that so often develops between management and a dissenting employee is not inevitable and, to a large extent, can be avoided to the benefit of all concerned. Several mechanisms are described that constructively encourage active employee involvement in the identification or resolution of agency related problems.