Grassley Welcomes Resolution for 10 FBI Whistleblowers Following Years of Retaliation

BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – Ten Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) whistleblowers have secured compensation agreements with the FBI after months of negotiations mediated by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). The whistleblowers, including Garret O’Boyle and Stephen Friend, were subjected to demotions, security clearance revocation and indefinite unpaid administrative leave as a result of reporting waste, fraud and abuse during the last administration. The 10 agreements collectively rectify over 12 years’ worth of inappropriate suspension time the FBI dealt against the whistleblowers.

“Whistleblowers risk it all for the sake of simply telling the truth. These 10 whistleblowers’ brave actions were met with intense bureaucratic blowback that caused severe financial and emotional hardship. Their lives were upended for years, but I never stopped fighting until things were made right,” Grassley said. “I appreciate Attorney General Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Blanche, Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino’s unyielding efforts to prioritize accountability and bring closure to these whistleblowers’ cases. My door remains open to all whistleblowers, and I’ll continue to protect and defend them from retaliation. There is more work to be done.”

Grassley wrote to Bondi and Patel today applauding their efforts as “an example of government power and authority being used for good.”

Details on the settlement agreements were provided to Grassley in a letter from the whistleblowers’ lawyers. Per Empower Oversight:

“Each of the agreements differ slightly depending on each employee’s particular situation, case, and circumstances. Of these eight settlement agreements:

• None required any resignations as a condition of the agreement.
• Four involve or facilitate voluntary retirements.
• All include lump sum payments for damages.
• Four require full restoration of back pay and benefits to be calculated according to the Back Pay Act, which requires putting federal employees in the same financial position they would have been had they not been subjected to an “unjustified or unwarranted personnel action.” See 5 U.S.C. § 5596(b)(1)(A)(i), (B), (b)(2) and 5 C.F.R. § 550.805.
• This requires that employees receive interest on all back pay, restored leave, and replaced Thrift Savings Plan contributions—including the agency match and lost investment earnings.
• These agreements also require all back pay and benefits to be calculated and paid within 30 days of the employee returning to work and providing all necessary information.
• Three require the FBI to return the employees to duty, including Garret O’Boyle, Stephen Friend, and Zachery Schoffstall.”

“Your leadership and advocacy for whistleblower protections were essential both publicly and behind the scenes. Without your office, these brave whistleblowers would almost certainly not have received a fair hearing,” Empower Oversight concluded in its letter to Grassley. “On behalf of our clients, their families, and the Americans who advocated for them—thank you.”

Background:
Grassley has scrutinized the FBI’s repeated practice of suspending whistleblowers’ security clearances and placing them on unpaid administrative leave while the FBI conducts a prolonged internal investigation. This effectively leaves the whistleblower in limbo, without pay or the option to seek alternative employment while their review is ongoing. Grassley introduced the bipartisan FBI Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act in July to empower FBI whistleblowers facing security clearance suspension and enhance whistleblower protections at the agency.

This is the third round of whistleblower agreements Grassley has helped secure this year, adding to his successful advocacy for two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers and three Customs and Border Protection whistleblowers. Grassley is the co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus.

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