國立臺灣大學政治科學論叢

Abstract / Chinese PDF Download

Whistleblowers  within  a  government  play  an  important  role  in  helping  thegovernment   to   ensure   justice.      Since   the   early   1970’s,   the   U.S.   FederalGovernment, and in particular Congress, has been using whistleblowing as a meansto   fighting   corruption.      Laws   encouraging   whistleblowing   and   protectingwhistleblowers in both the public and private sectors from employer retaliation havebeen enacted or amended.    In the field of public personnel administration, the CivilService  Reform  Act  of  1978  established  a  basic  framework  of  whistleblowerprotection.  However,  the  Act  was  so  deficient,  that  the  Whistleblower  ProtectionAct of 1989 and the Office of Special Counsel Reauthorization Act of 1994 weresubsequently  passed  to  improve  it.  Although  most  government  employees  do  notrepose confidence in these whistleblower laws, the overall improvements made inwhistleblower  protection  cannot  be  denied.  In  this  article,  the  author  points  outseveral  factors  that  may  have  influenced  the  effect  and  development  of  theinstitution  of  whistleblower  protection  in  the  United  States.  They  are  conflictingvalues in the personnel policy, administrator understanding of and attitude towardswhistleblower  protection  policy,  whistleblower’s  rights  during  the  appeal  process,the judicial  and quasi-judicial  systems’  interpretation of  the  laws, and  the  supportfrom society.