Exclusive: Government Departments Stop Whistleblower Training

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At least two federal government departments have stopped mandatory antidiscrimination and whistleblower training for their employees, according to internal documents.

Why It Matters

Legal protections for whistleblowing are guaranteed under the No FEAR Act (Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act) of 2002. Training has been mandatory for federal employees since 2006.

Since taking office again, President Donald Trump has been making major changes within federal agencies in the name of cutting waste. That includes an executive order to remove officials overseeing DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs.

What To Know

According to emails sent to staff at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and seen by Newsweek, the whistleblowing act has been caught up in this broader DEI crackdown.

Training for the No FEAR Act, which enforces workplace discrimination and whistleblower protection laws and requires federal agencies to report transparently on equality complaints, has been paused.

Newsweek contacted the White House, VA and DOD by email to comment, but had not receive a response at the time of publishing.

A DOD email seen by Newsweek listed four trainings it was pausing, including harassment prevention and No Fear Act training. The email read: "Due to recent EOs [executive orders] regarding the elimination of DEI and EEO [Equal Employment Opportunity] programs, region is instructing we place a pause on the following government trainings."

It added that new and existing staff would not be required to complete training requirements until further notice.

Another email showed that training requirements in harassment prevention and No Fear reporting had been removed from a staff member at the Department of Veterans Affairs' internal to-do list. The employee who shared this email told Newsweek this training had also been deleted from the training platform.

What People Are Saying

Kathleen McClellan, deputy director of the nonprofit Whistleblower & Source Protection Program (WHISPeR) which provides legal support to whistleblowers, said removing the training would not be legal.

"Internal channels are imperfect avenues for whistleblowers, but without them, federal employees will have nowhere to bring complaints of waste, fraud, mismanagement, abuse, illegality or dangers to public health and safety," she told Newsweek.

Joe Spielberger, senior policy counsel at nonpartisan government watchdog the Project on Government Oversight, said the agencies could now be out of compliance with the act.

He said that stopping the training would make it harder for people to understand their rights and how to speak out.

"This will certainly create more confusion, and even if people do know their rights, they will likely be more reluctant to come forward and exercise those rights if they feel agencies don't take these issues seriously," he said.

Trump has made other moves that critics say undermine whistleblowing activities.

On February 13, Judge Amy Berman Jackson reversed a White House Order sacking Hampton Dellinger as the head of the Office of Special Counsel, which provides a channel for whistleblowers and enforces impartiality among government workers.

On February 21, the Supreme Court declined Trump's emergency appeal of this order and allowed Dellinger to remain in the job until at least February 26.