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U.S. Office of Special Counsel                                                                                                                                                                                                

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#                                                                 About OSC                                                

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency. OSC's statutory authority comes from four federal laws: the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). 

OSC's primary mission is to safeguard the merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices (PPPs), especially reprisal for whistleblowing. For a description of the 14 PPPs, click here . 

OSC also operates as a secure channel for federal employees to blow the whistle by disclosing wrongdoing. Federal law establishes a unique process for disclosures made to OSC, intended to protect the confidentiality of the whistleblower and ensure that the alleged wrongdoing is investigated and, where necessary, corrected. For a description of the six types of covered wrongdoing, click here.

​In addition, OSC enforces the Hatch Act, which puts certain restrictions on partisan political activity by government employees (learn more​). It also protects the civilian employment and reemployment rights of military service members under USERRA (learn more​).

### U.S. Office of Special Counsel