Allegations of Retaliation by Bureau of Reclamation Supervisors Unfounded

OIG initiated this investigation after we received a complaint from a former U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) manager that she had been retaliated against for her perceived involvement in a disclosure to the OIG. The former manager claimed that after a co-worker made the disclosure, she was reassigned to a non-managerial position as a special assistant, which she believed was in retaliation for the alleged disclosure.

 

Our investigation found no evidence of retaliation and that the former manager’s reassignment was the result of performance issues. The former manager’s supervisor provided detailed examples of the former manager’s poor work performance. We were also provided with multiple documents that cited performance issues during the former manager’s tenure, which refuted her claim that she had approximately 16 years of work experience without any problems.