Employee Concerns Program

STATEMENT OF POLICY

The Livermore Site Office (LSO) Employee Concerns Program (ECP) is established as part of the Department of Energy’s whistleblower reform initiatives. These initiatives aim to streamline and improve the effectiveness of existing processes for resolving employee concerns, and make the Department’s “zero tolerance for reprisal” a reality. It is the policy of the Department that:

Employees in the Department of Energy, its contractors and subcontractors must be free to raise concerns, without fear of reprisal, about policies and practices that adversely affect the Department’s ability to accomplish its mission in a safe and efficient manner;
Management at all levels appreciate the value of employee concerns, and actively support an atmosphere in which employees feel free to voice concerns; and
Systems are established and operate effectively to ensure that concerns are appropriately, fairly and fully considered.
The LSO ECP supports the Secretary’s commitment to maintaining a safe and productive working environment for all DOE employees.

WHAT IS AN EMPLOYEE CONCERN?

An employee concern is a good-faith expression by an employee that a policy or practice of the Department (or one of its contractors or subcontractors) should be improved, modified, or terminated, because it constitutes a violation of health, safety or environmental laws, rules or regulations; it is unsafe, fraudulent, or a waste of funds or resources; or it constitutes an abuse of authority.
Raising issues such as these is commonly known as “whistle blowing.” Under whistleblower protection laws, employees who raise these types of issues may not be subject to reprisal or retaliation for having done so. Employees may seek appropriate remedial action where they can show that they were subjected to reprisal or retaliation for whistle blowing activities.

HOW CAN I REPORT A CONCERN?

Employees are encouraged to report concerns to their immediate supervisor; or to offices responsible for dealing with the particular subject matter of the concern. If the issue remains unresolved, the matter should be raised to the LSO ECP Manager.
The ECP Manager is available to assist employees in determining the appropriate program to which a concern should be addressed, and when necessary, to take action to investigate and seek resolution of the concern

HOW CAN I OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION?

For more information on the LSO ECP, please contact Clemonce Heard, ECP Manager at LSO-ECP@llnl.gov, or call the 24-hour hotline at

(925) 423-7222.