OSC Successfully Completed Mediation for Border Patrol Whistleblower

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has announced that it successfully completed its fourth mediation in the month of October. OSC mediated between Border Patrol agent Christian Sanchez and the U.S. Border Patrol’s Port Angeles Station in the state of Washington after Sanchez filed a Whistleblower Protection Act complaint.

Sanchez alleges that the U.S. Border Patrol in Port Angeles Station harassed and retaliated against him when he refused to receive overtime pay for work he never performed. According to his lawsuit, the Port Angeles Station employed over forty individuals. However, Sanchez states that there was an insufficient amount of work to perform so agents would pass time by taking daylong coastal drives and allegedly harassing local minorities. When Sanchez took a stand and refused to accept taxpayers’ money for work he did not perform, the Port Angeles Station denied him meaningful work and stripped him of his duties as an agency chaplain.

Upon filing his complaint in January 2012, Sanchez chose to seek mediation as a first option. OSC’s San Francisco office handled his case. As a result of mediation, the U.S. Board Patrol must reassign Sanchez a new post of his choosing, clear his personnel record, and restore his eligibility for chaplain duties.

Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner stated:

“Mr. Sanchez showed courage by speaking out… I commend both him and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for resolving their differences through mediation.”

The Employment Law Group® law firm has an extensive nationwide whistleblower practice representing employees who have been victims of retaliation.

Tagged: Whistleblower Laws (Federal), Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA)