Section 1553 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) protects non-Federal employees from retaliation for reporting allegations of wrongdoing in connection with ARRA funds or ARRA-funded activities.
The Chippewa Cree Tribe (CCT) entered into a Funding Agreement with the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and received $19,860,000 in ARRA funding. The Agreement required CCT’s compliance with section 1553 of the ARRA. In exchange for the ARRA funding, the CCT agreed, in part, to be bound by section 1553 and that “in the event of a conflict between ARRA and any other provisions of law including the Indian Self-Determination and Education assistance Act, the provision of ARRA and its objectives control.”
Subsequently, Mr. Kenneth Blatt-St. Marks (Mr. St. Marks) filed a whistleblower complaint with the OIG alleging that the CCT retaliated against him when they learned that he made a protected disclosure of information and cooperated in a Federal investigation into gross mismanagement of the ARRA funding to the CCT. OIG investigated the reprisal allegations and issued a report of investigation on May 27, 2014.
Under the ARRA, the head of the U.S. Department of the Interior must consider OIG’s report and determine whether a sufficient basis exists to find a prohibited reprisal by the non-Federal employee related to a protected disclosure. On December 19, 2014, the Solicitor of the Department issued a letter analyzing the relevant facts and law and concluded that the CCT retaliated against Mr. St. Marks for his whistleblower disclosures.
Although the Agency is authorized to order relief consistent with the terms of ARRA, it recommended that CCT independently resolve the issue with Mr. St. Marks in accordance with the remedies available under the ARRA. Mr. St. Marks was ordered to provide his requested remedy by January 12, 2015, and the CCT was allowed to provide any submission for consideration by the Department within 15 days thereafter. The parties were also advised of their right of appeal.
Apart from the ARRA determination, the Department strongly encouraged CCT to continue working with USBR to resolve all outstanding issues arising out of OIG’s December 16, 2013 audit report in order to bring that matter to a close.