966 F.3d 556, 2020 WL 4006612 (7th Cir. 2020)
An employee of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), complained that he was retaliated against for reporting his suspicions that another agent had shot at a fleeing suspect improperly, then committed perjury, in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act. The Administrative Law Judge had previously held that the disclosures were not protected, but the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that, holding that the disclosure was protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act. The Court also found that the disclosures were contributing factors in the employee’s being passed over for promotion. The Court therefore remanded the case back to the MSPB for calculations in backpay and benefits if the employee had been promoted when he was entitled to, and stated that he was entitled to submit a motion for Attorney’s Fees.
Attorney Angel did not represent this person, but he does represent clients in front of the MSPB and the federal Courts of Appeals.
Read the entire case here.