Some interesting whistleblower stories have been cropping up around the country over the past week or so:
1. Four years after blowing the whistle, FAA air-traffic controller Anne Whiteman’s allegations are finally being addressed, and hopefully she is feeling some measure of vindication. Ms. Whiteman disclosed that the FAA had systematically covered up errors by other air-traffic controllers by classifying the incidents as "pilot error." This meant that potentially life-threatening incidents were not being acted upon, but rather, they were swept under the rug. The FAA, now finding itself under the microscope after two whistleblowers testified before a House committee earlier this month, has been forced to take action on this issue.
2. In another story of whistleblowing in the aviation industry, the Department of Labor has announced that the Scottsdale, AZ, based West Jet Aircraft must pay nearly $100,000 in back pay and compensatory damages to a whistleblower who was fired after he/she (the whistleblower was not identified) reported the company for, among other things "performing a test flight with passengers on board."
3.) The first-ever whistleblower case under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is still being adjudicated. The Associated Press article, aptly titled "The Whistleblower’s Undending Story," tells an all-too familiar tale…
