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Bonneville Managers Retaliate Against Workers Participating in IG Review Ryan McDermott Fierce Government, July 16, 2013

Officials at the Bonneville Power Administration retaliated against federal workers who participated in an Energy Department inspector general review of hiring practices, a July 16 DOE office of inspector general alert (.pdf) says.

"These actions have a potentially chilling effect on various aspects of our work and, as such, jeopardize our ability to effectively complete our review of the circumstances surrounding inappropriate Bonneville hiring practices," the alert says.

In June, 2012 the DOE IG received an anonymous complaint alleging prohibited personnel practices at BPA. The complaint said that BPA engaged in hiring practices that hurt veteran applicants.

In February 2013, the IG was given the go ahead by the departmental chief human capital officer to review the allegations.

The IG found that Bonneville's hiring practices appeared to have effectively disadvantaged veterans and other applicants, which goes against government efforts to ensure that veterans received preferential treatment in the hiring process, the alert says.

The IG found that there were prohibited personnel practices in 65 percent of its competitive recruitments conducted from November 2010 to June 2012.

It was during the gathering of that information for the review, that BPA management proposed or recently executed "a number of personnel actions against certain employees who have cooperated with our review," the alert says.