On February 12, Automotive News published an OpEd piece by Constantine Cannon whistleblower partner Gordon Schnell calling for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to step up its whistleblower game.  It was prompted by the agency’s recent release of its long-awaited rules governing the auto safety whistleblower program, which provides financial awards to whistleblowers for reporting auto safety issues to the agency.

According to Schnell, “The problem is that in the decade since the program’s launch, NHTSA has seemingly shown little interest in pushing the program forward.”  He provides three examples to back that up.

First, NHTSA waited a decade to release its just-published final rules for the program even though Congress called for them back in 2017.  Senator Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), who co-sponsored the law implementing the program, called “this stalling and stonewalling […] absolutely inexcusable.”

Second, Schnell says the rules fall short in the whistleblower incentives and protections they provide, pointing to the absolute discretion NHTSA retains in making an award and the requirement that whistleblowers report internally before going to the agency.  Schnell believes this makes the process more challenging and uncertain for would-be whistleblowers and exposes them to unnecessary workplace retaliation.

Third, Schnell speaks to his own experience representing whistleblowers before the agency, and the disinterest and even hostility he and his clients often feel from the agency.  Schnell noted how disheartening it has been for his clients who have put their careers on the line to raise serious safety issues only “to be ignored or rebuffed by the very agency tasked to address them.”

The one exception is former Hyundai safety engineer Gwang Ho Kim who Constantine Cannon represented in reporting critical engine defects which led to the recall of 1.6 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles and up to $210 million in penalties.  Mr. Kim received a $24.3 million award under the whistleblower program, but it remains the only award to date.

In his OpEd, Schnell urges NHTSA to use the publication of its final whistleblower rules as “an opportunity to breathe new life into this program.”  He suggests plugging the lapses in the rules with a pro-whistleblower approach in their implementation and a stronger whistleblower embrace in the agency’s direct dealings with whistleblowers.  “Most importantly, whistleblowers and their counsel need to feel the agency really wants to hear from them.”

Schnell is not concerned the Trump Administration will get in the way of advancing the auto safety whistleblower program beyond its current slumber.  He believes the call for whistleblowers will be even stronger with the Administration’s efforts to streamline the Executive Branch with significantly scaled-down agency resources.

Schnell concludes that the industry and public would equally benefit with a strengthened NHTSA whistleblower program.  “Supporting whistleblowers allows them to provide an early warning sign of danger well before what could otherwise lead to the next major auto safety fiasco.  It is a lesson we have learned unfortunately many times over in recent years.”

Click here to read the full article in Automotive News.

If you would like to learn more about the auto safety whistleblower program or what it is like to be a NHTSA whistleblower, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We will connect you with an experienced member of the Constantine Cannon whistleblower team for a free and confidential consultation.

Read Constantine Cannon Partner Gordon Schnell Published in Automotive News on Whether NHTSA Will Finally Take Its Auto Safety Whistleblower Program Seriously at constantinecannon.com