Government Whistleblower Program Overview

Whistleblowing is the lawful disclosure of information a discloser reasonably believes evidences wrongdoing.

Recognizing that whistleblowers root out waste, fraud, and abuse and protect public health and safety, Federal laws strongly encourage employees to disclose wrongdoing.

Federal laws also protect whistleblowers from retaliation.

It is the mechanism to get the right information to the right people to counter wrongdoing and promote proper, effective, and efficient operation of functions.

Whistleblowing ensures critical information gets to the people who need to know about it.

Getting the right information to the right people promotes effective and efficient government.

It also roots out fraud, waste, and abuse while ensuring that sensitive national security information, programs, and activities are protected.

Whistleblowing is a powerful tool to raise awareness of potential issues within programs and activities.

The tool is designed for reporting wrongdoing and not personal grievances, policy disputes or management disagreements.

Whistleblowing occurs throughout the Federal government every day.

Whistleblowing can range from a simple conversation with a supervisor, to contacting an Inspector General (IG) Hotline, to providing information, through the proper channels, to Congress.

A Whistleblower is any individual who provides the right information to the right people.

Stated differently, lawful whistleblowing occurs when an individual provides information that they reasonably believe evidences wrongdoing to an authorized recipient.

The "Right Information" is any information an individual reasonably believes evidences wrongdoing.

Wrongdoing is a violation of law, rule, or regulation; gross mismanagement; a gross waste of funds; an abuse of authority; or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.

The "Right People" are those known as "authorized recipient(s)".

Authorized recipients include:

1. A government supervisor in the employee`s chain of command, up to and including the head of the employing agency.
2. The IG of the employing agency or Element.
3. The Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
4. The IC IG.
5. An employee designated by any of the above officials for the purpose of receiving such disclosures.

Authorized recipients are those individuals who can correct the wrongdoing that is reported to them.

Providing classified or sensitive information to those without a security clearance and a need-to-know may constitute an unauthorized disclosure.

Our nation’s tax system is built on the principle of voluntary compliance: taxpayers file tax returns and pay their taxes on time and accurately.

We need help from whistleblowers-people with firsthand knowledge of non-compliance who are willing to share what they know with us so we can investigate it when warranted.

The office pays monetary awards to eligible individuals whose information is used by the IRS.

On Dec. 20, 2006, Section 406 of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA 2006) added IRC section 7623(b), which enacted significant changes in the IRS award program for whistleblowers.

On Aug. 12, 2014, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published final regulations providing comprehensive guidance for the IRS Whistleblower Program under IRC Section 7623.

On July 1, 2019, Section 1405(a) of the Taxpayer First Act of 2019 (TFA 2019) amended IRC Section 7623 and Section 6103 and added several important provisions to help improve whistleblower service, to ensure the continual enforcement of the tax laws in a fair and impartial manner, and to ultimately support the continued success of our nation.

Whistleblower disclosures by HHS employees can save lives as well as billions of taxpayer dollars.

They play a critical role in keeping our Government honest, efficient, and accountable.

Pursuant to the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, established a Whistleblower Ombudsman in the OIG to educate Department employees about prohibitions on retaliation for whistleblowing, as well as employees' rights and remedies if anyone retaliates against them for making a protected disclosure (i.e., "Whistleblowing").

The Coordinator does not accept complaints of fraud, waste, abuse, or wrongdoing; all complaints should be submitted directly to the OIG Hotline.

In addition, the Coordinator is not permitted to act as a legal representative or advocate for employees or former employees.

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