Opinion ID: 2558572
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Respondent's July 2001 Whistleblower Complaint to the Office of Inspector General

Text: 22. By July 2001, Respondent had been employed at OHR for approximately seven months and therefore was aware of the protections afforded to whistleblowers. See BX 7. Further, as stated, Respondent knew that Mr. Holman was seeking to fire her. BX 9 at 5-7. 23. On or about July 20, 2001, Respondent prepared a written complaint entitled Violation under the Whistleblower's Act, addressed to OIG. In the complaint, Respondent alleged that Mr. Holman had engaged in misconduct because he paid the full amount of Mr. Plummer's invoice even though there was no written contract and Mr. Plummer had overbilled OHR. Respondent further alleged that Mr. Holman had retaliated against her [a]fter [she] voiced [her] concerns and review of the Plummer oral contract. BX 7. Respondent made no mention of OHR's existing or proposed contracts with CLA in her July 2001 complaint, although CLA had been performing since February 2001. 24. On July 26, 2001, then OIG Special Agent George Scavdis was assigned to investigate Respondent's complaint. BX 8 at 1. Other than the internal routing slip reflecting when and how the complaint was received, the only document in the OIG file was Respondent's three-page complaint, BX 7. Tr. at 343, 401-02, 454-55. 25. Agent Scavdis called Respondent on July 30, 2001, and they spoke the following day to schedule a meeting for August 9, 2001. Tr. at 339, 349; BX 8 at 1. At their meeting on August 9, 2001, Respondent provided Mr. Scavdis a nine-page chronology that she had prepared as well as other documents to support her allegations against Mr. Holman relating to the Plummer contract. Tr. at 347-50, 354-55, 436, 448; BX 9 at 1-46. In the nine-page chronology, Respondent made no mention of CLA or any OHR contractors other than Vere Plummer and Perry Crutchfield, another contractor with whom Respondent was having conflicts. Tr. at 439-40, 450-52; BX 9. The chronology did, however, recount that Mr. Holman had reassigned Respondent's supervising duties and had been very critical of her performance (BX 9 at 3-9)allegations that apparently were offered in support of her retaliation claim. See BX 7 at 2-3. 26. Most of the other documents that Respondent provided Mr. Scavdis concerned the Plummer contract and invoices. Tr. at 347-49, 355, 450-52; BX 9 at 10-46. However, she did provide documents that purportedly supported her retaliation claim, including copies of three emails that refer to CLA. BX 9 at 24-25. 27. Respondent's only reference to the three e-mails that mention CLA was in connection with her assertion that Mr. Holman was picking on her even though she was allegedly such a good employee doing great work and had to correct the work of others. Tr. at 356-57, 407, 414-15, 451; see also BX 20 at 465-66, 470-73; Tr. at 379-80. 28. Mr. Scavdis investigated the allegations that Respondent had made in her written complaint and at their August 9, 2001 meeting by obtaining documents and interviewing other witnesses. Tr. at 359-61; BX 8, 344-45; see also Tr. at 74-75, 86-87,134, 610-12. If Respondent had complained about OHR's contracts to CLA, Mr. Scavdis would have made a record of the allegations and would have investigated them. Tr. at 353-54, 367-68, 457-58. 29. Mr. Scavdis completed the investigation of Respondent's complaint in late October 2001, and prepared a report setting forth the results of the investigation: that OIG substantiated Respondent's allegation that Mr. Holman had violated D.C. regulations by authorizing payment to Mr. Plummer pursuant to an oral agreement. Tr. at 365-66; BX 8 at 3. However, OIG did not find evidence to support Respondent's allegation that Mr. Plummer had overbilled OHR. Tr. at 360-61, 463-64.