On February 9, the National Whistleblower Center (NWC) sent letters to the heads of federal agencies urging them to celebrate National Whistleblower Day. Since 2013, the U.S. Senate has unanimously recognized July 30 as National Whistleblower Appreciation Day and recommended that federal agencies celebrate the day by informing employees about their whistleblower rights and the importance of whistleblowers.
“On July 30th, 1778, Congress unanimously passed the first U.S. whistleblower law. All Americans should celebrate this important moment in history,” NWC’s letter states. “In the 245 years since Congress first passed this legislation, whistleblowers have played a critical role in preserving American democracy and the rule of law – often at tremendous personal cost. We should honor the courageous contributions of these past whistleblowers and be conscious of the continued need to root out waste, fraud, and abuse.”
“We hope to see each agency participate this year,” the letter continues. “Widespread acknowledgement across the federal government of the importance of whistleblowers could change the culture of retaliation against whistleblowers that persists today.”
In 2022, a number of agencies recognized National Whistleblower Day through programming, blog posts, informational tweets, and letters to employees. These agencies included the Department of Labor, the Office of Personnel Management, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Small Business Administration.
“NWC is so proud to see how support for National Whistleblower Day has increased since 2013,” said Siri Nelson, Executive Director of NWC. “On an agency level, we have seen increased resources committed to these efforts and last year were happy to notice nearly a dozen agencies engage in education for their employees on National Whistleblower Day. Some agencies even developed fun and engaging multimedia campaigns – it was impressive. We celebrate these efforts and hope to see more interesting National Whistleblower Day outreach this year.”
Each year, NWC hosts a National Whistleblower Day celebration featuring panels and speeches about whistleblowing. Previous years have included in-depth conversations among whistleblowers as well as speeches by members of Congress, the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Secretary of Labor.
NWC is currently accepting RSVPs for those interested in staying up-to-date about National Whistleblower Day 2023.
Further Reading:
NWC Urges Federal Agencies to Recognize National Whistleblower Day in 2023