Opinion ID: 801202
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Morgan Investigation

Text: After Whitmore was placed on administrative leave, DOL hired David Morgan, a former OSHA employee, to investigate the July 10 incident and concerns about a hostile work environment. Whitmore contends that Morgan was biased in favor of OSHA in prior whistleblower investigations, and was hired not to conduct an impartial investigation but to build a case against Whitmore to legally support his removal. In one chain of emails with OSHA's Robert Poogach, Morgan referred to himself and OSHA collectively as we, expressed hope that we would kick [the whistleblower's] ass this time, and called Whitmore a lying dog. A680-81. Whitmore further contends that Morgan selectively chose to interview only those witnesses who were adverse to Whitmore. The selected witnesses came from a list prepared by Goddard of people that could attest to the bullying and aggressive behavior of Mr. Whitmore, and others referred by those persons on Goddard's list. Moreover, Whitmore contends that Morgan pressured witnesses and tampered with their statements to make his report more favorable to OSHA. For example, Whitmore points to an email from Cecimil Maldonado, an OSHA Labor Relations Officer, forwarding a statement by OSHA employee Richard Fairfax to Morgan, stating: [h]ere is the Fairfax statement ... it's not what we wanted. A670. Morgan responded by suggesting that he may need to go after Fairfax again.... A674. As another example, Whitmore points to an early statement by DEA employee Clay Taylor expressing the view that Whitmore was the victim of intentional retaliation and a hostile work environment, stating in particular that Keith Goddard puts Joe Dubois up to things to mess with Mr. Whitmore, like denying his leave and changing the evaluation rating official, taking the responsibility away from Mr. Whitmore. A637. Later this sentence was omitted in a revised statement because, as Taylor explained, at the time I was very upset about some issues and I believe my anger shows in my statement. A635, A669. In response to this change, Morgan commented in an email: Looks like Clay may have wised up. A669. The OSHA Labor Relations Officer to whom Morgan's email was addressed responded: Yes! A669. Whitmore also noted that several witnesses expressed views unfavorable to him who had little to no dealings with him. A855, A905-06 (e.g., Bob Whitmore is the problem, his behavior is of a bullying nature, something bad is going to happen it's just a matter of time). Morgan's report, dated November 22, 2007, contained lengthy summaries of the various interviews and documentary evidence, and concluded that Whitmore's conduct implicated DOL's Workplace Violence Program, and warranted permanent action against Whitmore to protect OSHA's other employees from harm. A829, A859. On November 20, 2007, however, two days before Morgan's report was even completed, Goddard had already authored a proposed notice for removal of Whitmore, citing the July 10, 2007 incident as well as other disrespectful and intimidating conduct including Whitmore's emails to Dubois copying various uninvolved OSHA personnel. A1036-57. Goddard's proposal was not issued at that time, however.