On February 8, 2016, NELA filed an amicus brief in Abernathy v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. DC-1221-14-0364-W-1, pending before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). NELA’s amicus brief was filed in response to the MSPB’s invitation for public amicus participation, published in the Federal Register at 81 Fed. Reg. 2,913-2,914 (January 19, 2016).
In its Federal Register notice, the MSPB had requested public input concerning whether both the protected activity and the reprisal had to occur while the victim was an employee or applicant for WPA coverage to apply. The MSPB also sought comments comparing the WPA’s coverage to coverage under USERRA, and whether or not WPA coverage of federal contractors would negatively impact coverage under certain other federal contractor whistleblower protection statutes.
The amicus brief was drafted by Alan R. Kabat of Bernabei & Kabat (Washington, DC); Andrew J. Perlmutter of Passman & Kaplan (Washington, DC); Kathryn S. Piscitelli of Kathryn S. Piscitelli, Attorney at Law (Orlando, FL) and Richard R. Renner of Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch (Washington, DC). Matthew C. Koski, NELA Program Director (Oakland, CA), provided a detailed review of the draft amicus brief, which was also reviewed by Susan E. Jewell of … Read More