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Office of Special Counsel: Difference between revisions
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{{Organization | |||
|OrganizationName=Office of Special Counsel | |||
|OrganizationType=Independent Agencies | |||
|Mission=OSC protects federal employees from prohibited practices and retaliation, enforces Hatch Act, and oversees reemployment rights for service members. | |||
|CreationLegislation=Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 | |||
|Employees=140 | |||
|Budget=$28 million (Fiscal Year 2024) | |||
|OrganizationExecutive=Special Counsel | |||
|Services=Whistleblower protection; Hatch Act enforcement; USERRA oversight; Investigation of prohibited personnel practices; Alternative Dispute Resolution | |||
|Regulations=5 CFR Part 1800 (OSC regulations for whistleblower protection); 5 CFR Part 734 (Hatch Act regulations) | |||
|HeadquartersLocation=38.90553, -77.03991 | |||
|HeadquartersAddress=1730 M Street NW, Suite 218, Washington, DC 20036, USA | |||
|Website=https://www.osc.gov/ | |||
}} | |||
{{Short description|Investigative and prosecutorial agency}} | {{Short description|Investigative and prosecutorial agency}} | ||
{{Infobox government agency | {{Infobox government agency | ||
| agency_name = United States <br /> Office of Special Counsel | | agency_name = United States <br /> Office of Special Counsel | ||
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====Scott J. Bloch==== | ====Scott J. Bloch==== | ||
On June 26, 2003, [[President of the United States|President]] | On June 26, 2003, [[President of the United States|President]] George W. Bush nominated [[Scott J. Bloch]] for the position of Special Counsel at the Office of Special Counsel; he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 9, 2003. On January 5, 2004, he was sworn in to serve a five-year term.<ref>[http://www.osc.gov/bloch.htm "Scott J. Bloch, Special Counsel"], official OSC Web site.</ref> Bloch was a lightning rod for controversy. His first major actions as head of the Office were to choose as deputy a lawyer who had publicly taken a position against the "homosexual agenda," and to hire young lawyers from [[Ave Maria School of Law]], the conservative school founded by [[Domino's Pizza]] billionaire [[Tom Monaghan]].<ref name="Office of Special Counsel's War On Whistleblowers">{{cite news|last=Schulman|first=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Schulman (writer)|title=Office of Special Counsel's War On Whistleblowers|work=Mother Jones|date=2007-04-24|url=https://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/05/dont_whistle_while_you_work.html|access-date=2007-07-26}}</ref> | ||
On May 6, 2008, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] served warrants on OSC headquarters in [[Washington, D.C.]] as well as on Mr. Bloch's home, seizing computers. It was alleged that when Bloch's refusal to follow up on cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation was leaked to the press, he retaliated against career employees by creating a field office in [[Detroit]]. He was removed as Special Counsel on October 23, 2008. He was subsequently found to have obstructed the investigation by removing material from his computer.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90223448 FBI Raids Special Counsel Office, Seizes Records], [[NPR]], 6 May 2008</ref> He pleaded guilty to criminal [[contempt of Congress]] but then successfully withdrew his plea upon learning that he would be sentenced to prison. | On May 6, 2008, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] served warrants on OSC headquarters in [[Washington, D.C.]] as well as on Mr. Bloch's home, seizing computers. It was alleged that when Bloch's refusal to follow up on cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation was leaked to the press, he retaliated against career employees by creating a field office in [[Detroit]]. He was removed as Special Counsel on October 23, 2008. He was subsequently found to have obstructed the investigation by removing material from his computer.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90223448 FBI Raids Special Counsel Office, Seizes Records], [[NPR]], 6 May 2008</ref> He pleaded guilty to criminal [[contempt of Congress]] but then successfully withdrew his plea upon learning that he would be sentenced to prison. | ||
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* '''[[Carolyn N. Lerner]]''' (April 2011 – June 2017) – The United States Senate confirmed Carolyn Lerner as the 8th Special Counsel on April 14, 2011.<ref>Robert Brodsky, Office of Special Counsel finally has a new leader, Government Executive (Apr. 15, [http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0411/041511rb1.htm 2011]).</ref> Prior to her appointment as Special Counsel, Lerner was a partner in the Washington, D.C., civil rights and employment law firm Heller, Huron, Chertkof, Lerner, Simon & Salzman, where she represented individuals in discrimination and employment matters, as well as non-profit organizations on a wide variety of issues. She previously served as the federal court appointed monitor of the consent decree in Neal v. D.C. Department of Corrections, a sexual harassment and retaliation class action. Before becoming Special Counsel, Lerner taught mediation as an adjunct professor at [[George Washington University Law School]], and was mediator for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the D.C. Office of Human Rights. When she was in private practice, Lerner was featured in Best Lawyers in America, with a specialty of civil rights law, and was one of Washingtonian magazine's top employment lawyers. Lerner earned her undergraduate degree from the honors program at the [[University of Michigan]] with high distinction and was selected to be a Truman Scholar. She received a diploma in general studies from the [[London School of Economics]], and she earned her [[Juris Doctor]] degree from [[New York University School of Law|New York University (NYU) School of Law]], where she was a Root-Tilden-Snow public interest scholar. After law school, she served for two years as a law clerk to the Honorable Julian Abele Cook, Jr., Chief U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan.<ref>Carolyn N. Lerner, Heller, Huron, Chertkof, Lerner, Simon & Salzman (Apr. 19, [http://www.eeolawyers.com/default.php?id=19 2011]).</ref> | * '''[[Carolyn N. Lerner]]''' (April 2011 – June 2017) – The United States Senate confirmed Carolyn Lerner as the 8th Special Counsel on April 14, 2011.<ref>Robert Brodsky, Office of Special Counsel finally has a new leader, Government Executive (Apr. 15, [http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0411/041511rb1.htm 2011]).</ref> Prior to her appointment as Special Counsel, Lerner was a partner in the Washington, D.C., civil rights and employment law firm Heller, Huron, Chertkof, Lerner, Simon & Salzman, where she represented individuals in discrimination and employment matters, as well as non-profit organizations on a wide variety of issues. She previously served as the federal court appointed monitor of the consent decree in Neal v. D.C. Department of Corrections, a sexual harassment and retaliation class action. Before becoming Special Counsel, Lerner taught mediation as an adjunct professor at [[George Washington University Law School]], and was mediator for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the D.C. Office of Human Rights. When she was in private practice, Lerner was featured in Best Lawyers in America, with a specialty of civil rights law, and was one of Washingtonian magazine's top employment lawyers. Lerner earned her undergraduate degree from the honors program at the [[University of Michigan]] with high distinction and was selected to be a Truman Scholar. She received a diploma in general studies from the [[London School of Economics]], and she earned her [[Juris Doctor]] degree from [[New York University School of Law|New York University (NYU) School of Law]], where she was a Root-Tilden-Snow public interest scholar. After law school, she served for two years as a law clerk to the Honorable Julian Abele Cook, Jr., Chief U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan.<ref>Carolyn N. Lerner, Heller, Huron, Chertkof, Lerner, Simon & Salzman (Apr. 19, [http://www.eeolawyers.com/default.php?id=19 2011]).</ref> | ||
* '''William E. Reukauf, Acting''' (November 2008 – April 2011). Reukauf joined the legal staff of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) in January 1983. He was appointed Associate Special Counsel for Prosecution in February 1985. In 2001 he became the head of an Investigation and Prosecution division. Prior to taking over as Acting Special Counsel, he had responsibility for managing the activities of the agency's regional field offices, as well as responsibility for OSC's Alternative Dispute Resolution Program.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.osc.gov/Reukauf.htm |title=William e. Reukauf |access-date=2010-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100403074409/http://www.osc.gov/Reukauf.htm |archive-date=2010-04-03 }}</ref> Prior to joining OSC, Mr. Reukauf was, for several years, in private practice in Washington, DC. His practice was focused on general civil litigation and criminal defense. Reukauf began his legal career in 1970, as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1973 he joined the General Counsel's office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as a senior trial attorney where he prosecuted enforcement actions involving toxic chemicals in the Division of Pesticides & Toxic Substances. Mr. Reukauf received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College in 1966 and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1969. He is the author of Regulation of Toxic Pesticides, 62 Iowa L. Rev. 909 (1976–1977). | * '''William E. Reukauf, Acting''' (November 2008 – April 2011). Reukauf joined the legal staff of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) in January 1983. He was appointed Associate Special Counsel for Prosecution in February 1985. In 2001 he became the head of an Investigation and Prosecution division. Prior to taking over as Acting Special Counsel, he had responsibility for managing the activities of the agency's regional field offices, as well as responsibility for OSC's Alternative Dispute Resolution Program.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.osc.gov/Reukauf.htm |title=William e. Reukauf |access-date=2010-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100403074409/http://www.osc.gov/Reukauf.htm |archive-date=2010-04-03 }}</ref> Prior to joining OSC, Mr. Reukauf was, for several years, in private practice in Washington, DC. His practice was focused on general civil litigation and criminal defense. Reukauf began his legal career in 1970, as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1973 he joined the General Counsel's office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as a senior trial attorney where he prosecuted enforcement actions involving toxic chemicals in the Division of Pesticides & Toxic Substances. Mr. Reukauf received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College in 1966 and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1969. He is the author of Regulation of Toxic Pesticides, 62 Iowa L. Rev. 909 (1976–1977). | ||
* '''[[Scott Bloch|Scott J. Bloch]]''' (December 2003 – November 2008). On June 26, 2003, President | * '''[[Scott Bloch|Scott J. Bloch]]''' (December 2003 – November 2008). On June 26, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Bloch for the position of Special Counsel at the Office of Special Counsel. The Senate unanimously confirmed Bloch on December 9, 2003. On Jan. 5, 2004, he was sworn in to serve a five-year term. Bloch brought 17 years of experience to the Office of Special Counsel, including litigation of employment, lawyer ethics, and complex cases before state courts, federal courts and administrative tribunals. He briefed and argued cases before state and federal appellate courts. From 2001 to 2003, Bloch served as associate director and then deputy director and Counsel to the Task Force for Faith-based and Community Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on First Amendment cases, regulations, intergovernmental outreach, and programmatic initiatives. Before serving in the Justice Department, he was a partner with Stevens & Brand, LLP, of Lawrence, Kansas, where he practiced in the areas of civil rights law, employment law, and legal ethics. Bloch tried jury trials before state and federal courts, representing employees and employers in cases involving whistleblower and other retaliation claims, as well as civil rights claims. He worked on important cases that set precedents in the field of legal ethics, including a ground-breaking Texas case that changed the way plaintiffs' lawyers handle mass tort cases. Bloch served as chair of his county Bar Ethics and Grievance Committee, investigating cases of alleged breaches by attorneys of ethics rules, and making recommendations to the state Supreme Court on disciplinary action. He also served on the state board of discipline, hearing testimony and legal arguments, and making findings on appropriate discipline of attorneys. For five years, he served as an adjunct professor at the [[University of Kansas School of Law]]. Mr. Bloch earned his bachelor's and [[Juris Doctor]] degrees from the University of Kansas, where he graduated Order of the Coif, and served on the Boards of Editors of The Kansas Law Review and The Kansas Criminal Procedure Review. He lives with his wife, Catherine, and their seven children in Alexandria, Virginia.<ref>U.S. Office of Special Counsel Fiscal Year 2003 Annual Report.</ref> | ||
* '''[[Elaine D. Kaplan]]''' (April 1998 – June 2003). Kaplan came to OSC with extensive experience litigating employment-related issues before federal courts and administrative tribunals. Prior to her appointment as Special Counsel by President [[Bill Clinton]], Kaplan served as Deputy General Counsel of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), where she represented the interests of 150,000 employees in the areas of civil liberties, administrative law, racial and sexual discrimination, and labor law. During her 13 years at NTEU, Kaplan briefed and argued dozens of cases at all levels of the federal courts on behalf of the union and the federal employees it represented. Many of the cases in which Kaplan participated resulted in important precedent-setting decisions including, among others, National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab, 489 U.S. 656 (1989) (the first Supreme Court decision addressing Fourth Amendment implications of urinalysis drug-testing in the public workforce) and National Treasury Employees Union v. United States, 115 S.Ct. 1003 (1995) (which struck down on First Amendment grounds the statutory "honoraria ban" as applied to federal employees). Kaplan began her legal career in 1979 at the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, where she worked as a staff attorney in the Division of Employee Benefits. In 1982, Kaplan was selected to serve on the staff of the newly created Division of Special Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation, which was established to handle the department's most significant appellate cases and all of its Supreme Court work. She subsequently held the position of staff attorney at the State and Local Legal Center, where she drafted amicus briefs on behalf of state and local governments for submission to the United States Supreme Court. Kaplan, who is a native of Brooklyn, New York, received her undergraduate degree from Binghamton University and her [[Juris Doctor]] degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.<ref>A Report to Congress From The U.S. Office Of Special Counsel For Fiscal Year 2001.</ref> | * '''[[Elaine D. Kaplan]]''' (April 1998 – June 2003). Kaplan came to OSC with extensive experience litigating employment-related issues before federal courts and administrative tribunals. Prior to her appointment as Special Counsel by President [[Bill Clinton]], Kaplan served as Deputy General Counsel of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), where she represented the interests of 150,000 employees in the areas of civil liberties, administrative law, racial and sexual discrimination, and labor law. During her 13 years at NTEU, Kaplan briefed and argued dozens of cases at all levels of the federal courts on behalf of the union and the federal employees it represented. Many of the cases in which Kaplan participated resulted in important precedent-setting decisions including, among others, National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab, 489 U.S. 656 (1989) (the first Supreme Court decision addressing Fourth Amendment implications of urinalysis drug-testing in the public workforce) and National Treasury Employees Union v. United States, 115 S.Ct. 1003 (1995) (which struck down on First Amendment grounds the statutory "honoraria ban" as applied to federal employees). Kaplan began her legal career in 1979 at the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, where she worked as a staff attorney in the Division of Employee Benefits. In 1982, Kaplan was selected to serve on the staff of the newly created Division of Special Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation, which was established to handle the department's most significant appellate cases and all of its Supreme Court work. She subsequently held the position of staff attorney at the State and Local Legal Center, where she drafted amicus briefs on behalf of state and local governments for submission to the United States Supreme Court. Kaplan, who is a native of Brooklyn, New York, received her undergraduate degree from Binghamton University and her [[Juris Doctor]] degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.<ref>A Report to Congress From The U.S. Office Of Special Counsel For Fiscal Year 2001.</ref> | ||
* '''William E. Reukauf, Acting''' (~1997 – April 1998) | * '''William E. Reukauf, Acting''' (~1997 – April 1998) | ||