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OSHA: Where Good Laws Go To Die

sherron_watkins_gal.jpg In 2002, when Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley act to tighten up corporate governance standards in the wake of Enron, it included a measure to protect and encourage corporate whistleblowers, people like Enron's Sherron Watkins. Business grudgingly accepted the law, while reformers like Taxpayers Against Fraud called the statute “the single most effective measure possible to prevent recurrences of the Enron debacle and similar threats to the nation’s financial markets."

Apparently, though, the reformers didn't read the fine print: Big business groups managed to get enforcement of the new law vested with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a notoriously toothless agency in the Labor Department. Not surprisingly, OSHA hasn't given whistleblowers any more protection than it has to poor workers in meatpacking plants.

In a new law review article out this fall, University of Nebraska professor Richard Moberly calculates that in the first three years after Sarbanes-Oxley, only 13 out of 491 employees who filed complaints with OSHA found any sort of relief for their claims of retaliation and other repercussions resulting from blowing the whistle. Only six succeeded on appeal. Moberly concludes that, among other things, OSHA has no idea what it's doing and that—surprise—even if it did, the agency was underfunded and couldn't really handle the workload. The whistleblower provision is one of those great examples of big business touting its commitment to reform by supporting a tough new law while virtually ensuring that it will never actually have to reform anything.






Comments

Nothing's changed in twenty years. I was a whistleblower back in the 80's. OSHA told my boss that a "woman" called in the report of a contaminated building. Since I was the only woman in that particular office, it did not take much to figure out who blew the whistle. Would I do it all over again knowing I might lose my job?
Absolutely!

Posted by: Little Morning Star on 11/07/07 at 10:03 AM  Respond

We need to take this government by the horns and make it work....Let us start by not participating in any more elections....Short of a bloody revolution,i have no ideas about what else to do....

Posted by: eric oriol on 11/07/07 at 12:58 PM  Respond

I reported the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Fraud (FDIC) since early 2002. Prior to 2002, the FDIC was reported by the National Employee Treasury Union (NETU) since 1978 of individual FDIC Legal Division and FDIC contractors engaged into Bank Fraud, Inside Trading, Money Laundering, Wachovia Bank Fraud, Signatory to infamous Kenneth Lay (Enron) and Halliburton. Tejas/Wells Fargo merged into Wachovia. Former FDIC Chairman Donald E. Powell now coordinator for Katrina signed off as the Bank Signatory. Go to Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Financial Filings on-line (Free). Check out Donald E. Powell, Frederick S.Selby (FDIC Division of Finance) signatory to Kenneth Lay (Enron)(Unregistered) SEC Filings. Follow-The-Money

The U.S. Senate, Judiciary, Whitehouse, and U.S. Congress is aware of the fraud but failed to investigate reported corrupt offcials.

FDIC Whistleblower
Related To NSA
Classified Docs Case

By Wayne Madsen
12-17-5

WMR has discovered there is much more to the government's harassment of Kenneth W. Ford. Yolanda Gibson-Michaels, Ford's second cousin, to whom he is close, filed major fraud and conflict of interests charges against Donald E. Powell, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and a close political ally and friend of George W. Bush who served as President of First National Bank of Amarillo, Texas and Chairman of the Board of Regents of Texas A&M University.

Gibson-Michaels, a whistleblower who worked for the FDIC Legal Division, uncovered fraud involving senior FDIC officials and scandals involving Bank Hapoalim of Israel, Bank Leumi of Israel, Russian-Israeli mob figures Vladimir Guzinsky and Arkady Gaydamak (a financial partner of Cheney while he was at Halliburton), Bank Leumi's Chairman Eitan Raff, SunTrust Bank of Florida (the bank from where the FBI's confidential informant Tonya Tucker (who stung Ford) received checks while she was in the Washington area, the Washington Field Office of the FBI, illegal Congo diamond trading involving DRC Resources Corporation, massive overcharging of the FDIC by outside counsel law firms, Saudi lobbyists in Washington, the Wells Fargo-Tejas merger, Tyco International, Enron off shore entities, and Halliburton. WMR will bring more details about this massive fraud involving the FDIC, described as a $3 trillion slush fund for Bush, Cheney and their business friends and associates around the world.

Considering Ford's cousin's high profile FDIC investigation (also involving Securities and Exchange Commission probes) of politicians and businessmen connected to Bush, Cheney, and Israeli interests, perhaps David I. Salem, the U.S. Assistant Attorney who was so quick to see Kenneth Ford sent to prison, should also have any of his possible connections to the Bush White House, the GOP, and Israel thoroughly investigated for potential conflicts of interest and criminal conspiracy.

http://waynemadsenreport.com/

Posted by: Yolanda Gibson-Michaels on 11/08/07 at 3:31 AM  Respond

Former FDIC Employee Blows Whistle On FDIC Chairman Donald E. Powell

Temple Hills, MD (BlackNews.com) - FDIC Whistleblower Yolanda Gibson-Michaels says the FDIC Chairman Donald E. Powell should not be in charge of lucrative contracts or oversee Katrina rebuilding for the Gulf region or any other region in the United States. She says since his indoctrination August, 2001, the FDIC Chairman has tarnished the reputation at FDIC. She's requested an immediate non-partisan independent audit and investigation.

Gibson-Michaels say the appointment of FDIC Chairman to "Safeguard against improprieties in awarding lucrative government contracts..." is ludicrous! She says the Chairman's safeguard is like unto to a Wolf watching over Sheep! She reported FDIC's receivership fraud, bank fraud, inside trading, and money laundering impropriety.

She says FDIC Chairman signed as signatory 2002 on the merger of Wells Fargo investments under the guise of a non-compete agreement. Wells Fargo, Wachovia, Northwest formerly Norwest was approved by FDIC Chairman Donald Powell. His title is used interchangeably as the Board of Director, Chairman of the Board, the Company and the Bank. She reports that the "the Company" is a non-existent shell company. She quotes the Chairman statement in the 2002 board meeting, which reads, in part, that:

"2002 and until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified. TheBoard of Directors has nominated William H. Attebury, Danny H. Conklin, Wales H. Madden, Jr., Jay O'Brien, and Donald E. Powell, who are presently the directors of the Company, for election as directors."

She reports that the FDIC Chairman acknowledged his history of contract impropriety within a February 5, 2005, edition of the Arkansas Traveler.

"Powell said he had tried to find ways out of contracts, tried only to remain true to the letter of the law and given money to political candidates who supported his industry but whom he would not personally vote for..."

Gibson-Michaels say the industry the Chairman refers to is his Nubank Investment Center located at www.NUBANK.com. The FDIC Chairman is the Director of Nubank, insured by FDIC; and the Chairman of FDIC. She reports that her disclosures are substantiated within an inclusive, detailed oriented 539 page disclosure report available to the general public at the U.S. Library of Congress.

Gibson-Michaels have asserted her rights under the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) bounty program. She will donate a percentage of proceeds collected against FDIC's Chairman's Wells Fargo, Tejas, Northwest, Enron, Halliburton, Acordia, California Bank and other ill-gotten investments.

She reported FDIC's Division of Finance Director (DOF) as the signatory to former Enron's corrupt official Kenneth Lay. A copy of protected disclosures were provided to Henry Waxman, John Kerry, Senator Edward Kennedy, Congressman Albert Wynn, Nancy Pelosi, Senator John Ensign, Barbara Boxer, Senator Sarbanes, Barbara Mikulski, U.S. Attorneys, and Law enforcement agencies.

FDIC's 3-trillion dollar budget, will benefit poor, sick, elderly, homeless, Autistic children (as her youngest son is severely autistic with a seizure disorder), Hurricane Katrina victims, victims of Wells Fargo Predatory lending, and social programs.

Gibson-Michaels vows to fight against money and greed which supercedes human compassion, morals, values, and ethics. She's requesting donations for law suit funding in her fight against FRAUD, DECEPTION, IMPROPRIETY, AND CORRUPTION.

Evidence of FDICs Fraud Documented at www.lulu.com book entitled, Caught In a Web of Bureaucracy. U.S. Americans must demand investigation of Financial Institutions Financing War on Terror.

Gibson-Michaels says she will also hold FDIC Chairman and other corrupt officials accountable for any and all threats, assaults, physical, verbal or harm to her family or personal affects; to and including pets and goldfish.

She says she will never commit suicide or attempt suicide. She will hold FDIC accountable for train, automobile and so-called plane crashes.

She concluded that her 539 page disclosure report mirrors author John Perkins true ordeal (book) entitled, Confessions of an Economic Hitt Man. She reports that she and other whistleblowers are Caught in a Web of Bureaucracy created by Economic Hitt Men.
ygmichaels@yahoo.com


Posted by: FDIC Whistleblower Yolanda Gibson-Michaels on 11/08/07 at 3:44 AM  Respond

God bless you Little Morning Star. I hope that if I find myself in your position I have your courage. Excellent position Eric Oriol. Talk to eveyone you know, contact all the groups you do work with, etc... boycot the election. We repeatedly elect people who claim they will change things but they don't. We still have an abhorant and despicable foriegn policy with each and every presidency. The people of our nation have been consistantly loosing ground for decades. Military spending goes up signigicantly each year while spending on our infrastructure goes down. Does the Katrina disaster teach us anything? How far does health care have to decay before we do something. Boycott the election. Force change. And maybe we can get someone in office who will put teeth into the agencies that will protect whistleblowers. I've read far to many articles on our governments failure to protect whistleblowers and their protection of industry/corporations.

Posted by: Nakis on 11/08/07 at 4:56 AM  Respond

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