Findings of Whistleblower Retaliation by Army and Contractor Jacobs Technologies Management Officials

The Special Investigations Branch (SIB) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), conducted an investigation in response to allegations brought forth by a complainant at Jacobs Technologies, a contractor for the Department of Defense (DoD). DoD entered into an agreement with HHS to provide acquisition assistance under an HHS contract with Jacobs Technologies. The complainant alleged that while working at DoD as a contract employee, the complainant’s supervisors and responsible management officials (RMOs) terminated the complainant for notifying Army personnel of possible security breaches. OIG investigators found that the RMOs terminated the complainant in retaliation for making protected disclosures. The OIG investigative report that was issued to the Secretary of HHS included recommendations to make the complainant whole and to provide whistleblower training to employees of HHS contractors. The OIG investigative report also included recommendations to DoD to provide whistleblower protection training to management officials and consider whether DoD employees should be disciplined for committing prohibited personnel actions under applicable laws and/or regulations.