Once again, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has demonstrated an exceptional year of performance. By the numbers, Fiscal Year 2025 (FY 2025) has proven to be one of the most productive and impactful in OSC history.
OSC has four primary statutory enforcement programs: (1) investigating, prosecuting, and resolving prohibited personnel practices (PPPs), including whistleblower retaliation; (2) serving as a safe and secure channel for whistleblower disclosures; (3) investigating, litigating, and issuing guidance on improper political activity under the Hatch Act; and (4) litigating and resolving complaints under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
The following provides an overview of the number and examples of cases that OSC successfully resolved in FY 2025.
Whistleblower Disclosures
In FY 2025, OSC opened 2,535 whistleblower disclosure cases and closed 2,609 cases, a significant increase over the 1,755 cases opened and 1,686 cases closed in FY 2024. OSC also issued 49 reports to the President and to Congress regarding whistleblower disclosures—compared to 43 issued in FY 2024—including several major reports that highlight OSC's critical role in promoting health and safety and in helping improve agency accountability.
In one case, OSC received disclosures from Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) employees who revealed that active mines in U.S. Pacific Territories were falsely designated as “abandoned," allowing MSHA to avoid mandatory inspections required under federal law. The agency investigation substantiated the allegations, uncovering serious oversight failures and misleading reporting to Congress about inspection rates. Thanks to the whistleblowers' courage and OSC's referral, MSHA has been forced to confront systemic failures that endangered miners and misrepresented its compliance with the Mine Act.
In another case, a whistleblower at the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) exposed serious lapses in the management of inmate financial obligations, revealing that court-ordered payments were not being properly recorded or collected. A targeted audit confirmed that over $2.5 million in obligations were mishandled, including nearly $70,000 that became permanently uncollectible. OSC's referral prompted BOP to initiate new oversight measures, including monthly reminders, staff training, and regional check-ins to ensure compliance.
In yet another case, whistleblowers at the USDA's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) disclosed widespread safety hazards and infrastructure failures across the campus, including broken elevators, lack of running water, and nonfunctional fire suppression systems. OSC's referral led to a comprehensive investigation that substantiated the allegations and revealed gross mismanagement, violations of federal safety regulations, and damage to scientific equipment and research.
In May 2025, OSC also initiated a new policy of recommending monetary rewards for meritorious disclosures. This initiative is designed to shift agency culture toward valuing transparency and proactive problem-solving, especially cost-saving and prevention of waste, fraud, and abuse.
Prohibited Personnel Practices
OSC's largest caseload comes through receiving and processing alleged prohibited personnel practices (PPPs). In FY 2025, OSC received more than 6,570 new complaints of PPPs, a significant increase over the 4,017 complaints received in FY 2024. Prior to FY 2025, the highest number of cases opened in a single fiscal year was 4,168 in FY 2018. Between 2020 and 2022, there was a lull in case filings, but since the return to office in 2022, filings have risen steadily each year. Examples of notable successes appear below, although case information is limited to protect complainant confidentiality.
In one case, a U.S. Navy employee alleged that, in retaliation for raising workplace safety and production quality concerns, the agency took personnel actions that deprived the employee of a raise and cash award, including threatening a suspension. Following OSC's investigation, the agency agreed to a settlement including the employee's reassignment and promotion. The agency further agreed to pursue disciplinary action against the employee's supervisor.
In another case, a U.S. Army employee alleged that, in retaliation for raising concerns about improper security procedures, the agency suspended the employee. The agency also instructed the employee to exclusively use the chain of command when raising security concerns, in violation of his whistleblower rights. Following OSC's investigation, the agency agreed to a settlement that rescinded the suspension and corrected the violation with a notice of the whistleblower's rights.
In yet another case, a retired U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official alleged retaliation for making protected disclosures to OSC, which were referred to CBP for investigation and ultimately resulted in an OSC letter to the President. OSC also issued a PPP report finding unlawful retaliation through the creation of a hostile work environment and assisted the parties in reaching a global settlement that included compensatory damages.
These are only a few examples of OSC's many successes in addressing PPPs in the federal workforce in FY 2025. Overall, OSC achieved nearly 400 favorable outcomes in PPP cases during the fiscal year, including both individual relief and systemic changes in agency policies and practices to prevent future violations.
Hatch Act
Hatch Act complaints represent an area of increasing work for OSC, beyond the usual uptick during an election year. OSC's Hatch Act Unit has been exceptionally productive over the past year. In FY 2025, OSC received 694 new Hatch Act complaints and resolved 711 complaints, compared to 458 received and 391 resolved in FY 2024. The Hatch Act Unit also filed four complaints with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSBP), compared to one in FY 2024. Also in FY 2025, OSC issued 777 advisory opinions and obtained 24 corrective actions and 17 disciplinary actions in Hatch Act matters.
In FY 2025, OSC investigated a case that resulted in recent complaints being filed with MSPB against a sitting sheriff and undersheriff in Chesapeake, Virginia, alleging several serious Hatch Act violations to win a primary and general election. The violations involved soliciting political contributions, coercive fundraising practices, misuse of staff and official events for campaign purposes and applying undue political pressure on office staff. Employees also reported fear of retaliation for insufficient support of the sheriff's campaign.
Also in FY 2025, an MSPB hearing was held in a case where OSC charged a Pentagon Force Protection Agency employee with violating the Hatch Act by being a candidate for partisan political office, and knowingly soliciting, accepting, or receiving political contributions, among other prohibited activities. Despite OSC repeatedly warning the employee, he continued his candidacy for sheriff while remaining a federal employee. OSC is awaiting a decision on the case as of December 2025.
In yet another case litigated before the MSPB, OSC persuaded an Administrative Law Judge that Hatch Act cases can be brought against former employees for violations that occurred during their service, confirming OSC's decision to pursue such violations.
USERRA
Under USERRA, OSC also protects the rights of National Guard and Reserve members who must leave their civilian jobs to perform military duty. In FY 2025, OSC's USERRA Unit worked to defend veterans' employment rights in 19 cases, the same number of cases handled in FY 2024. In one case, OSC secured a settlement for a National Guardsman who was denied pay raises and bonuses while deployed, resulting in back pay of over $20,000 and a higher salary. OSC is committed to honoring those who serve our country in uniform by enforcing USERRA.
2302(c) Trainings
Finally, as required under 5 U.S.C. 2302(c), OSC worked to proactively train thousands of federal agencies and employees about their rights and obligations under civil service laws by conducting 273 training sessions in FY 2025. OSC delivered training to a wide range of federal agencies, including those tasked with safeguarding public transportation, securing national borders, and providing care to veterans, demonstrating OSC's broad reach and continued relevance across the government.
Conclusion
In conclusion, OSC continues to demonstrate that it is fulfilling its mandate to protect the merit system in federal employment, to provide a forum for federal employees to disclose waste, fraud, and abuse, and to make the federal government more efficient and accountable. OSC's successes demonstrate that cases can be quickly and effectively resolved through administrative processes rather than the federal court system, saving the government excessive litigation costs, streamlining remedies for complaints, and avoiding a patchwork of case law from different jurisdictions around the United States.
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OSC provides a safe channel for federal employees to report fraud, waste, mismanagement, abuse, dangers to public health and safety, and censorship related to scientific research. The agency also safeguards and protects the rights of federal employees and returning members of the uniformed services, while working to maintain a federal workforce free of partisan political influence through its enforcement of the Hatch Act.