A Decade with No Relief: Whistleblower Dr. Toni Savage and the Personal Toll of the MSPB’s Lack of Quorum
This article, originally published on Whistleblower Network News, is written by Geoff Schweller and profiles whistleblower Dr. Toni Savage and addresses the lack of justice for whistleblowers who are federal employees. Dr. Savage told her story at National Whistleblower Day 2017. National Whistleblower Day 2021 will feature a number of other heroic whistleblowers sharing their personal stories, just like Toni so bravely did in 2017. The virtual event will also feature discussion of the current crisis at the MSPB and other issues relevant to federal employee whistleblowers. RSVP for National Whistleblower Day 2021 here!
Dr. Tommie “Toni” Savage’s esteemed career and health were impacted after blowing the whistle. She reported millions of dollars of contract fraud openly occurring at the Army Corps of Engineers Huntsville Command. Dr. Savage’s ordeal began in 2006. Dr. Savage, with the help of expert whistleblower counsel Michael D. Kohn, overturned an administrative judge’s ruling by bringing her case to the MSPB. Her case established, for the first time, a hostile work environment cause of action for federal whistleblowers. After this precedent-setting decision, her case went before the MSPB for a final ruling on her hostile work environment claim and has remained in legal limbo since June 2016. Dr. Savage first told her story at the National Whistleblower Center’s annual National Whistleblower Appreciation Day event. She described whistleblowers as “courageous, loyal, dependable, brave, dedicated, heroic, and patriotic,” adjectives that also apply to Dr. Savage.
Dr. Savage began her career with the Army Corps of Engineers Huntsville, Alabama Support Center in 1993 as a paid intern. For the next dozen years, she consistently received nothing but the highest exceptional annual reviews. She was constantly promoted and singled out for top contracting honors. In 2006, Dr. Savage became the Corp’s first Black woman to head the Huntsville contracting office. That position allowed her to observe what was occurring within the Corp’s “Ranges Program” — the program responsible for designing and constructing military training facilities worldwide. Dr. Savage’s attorney said she was bewildered by what she observed — open contracting fraud she could not allow to continue on her watch. She told what was going on to the Corp’s Huntsville chief counsel and her chain of command, including the commander. All refused to take corrective action. So, she pressed on and presented her concerns to the Corps’ Huntsville auditing department. The auditors concluded that everything Dr. Savage had identified was true. When the auditors attempted to prepare a written report, they were ordered by the Huntsville commander to suppress their findings. The report was not released, and Dr. Savage was removed from her position. A member of the audit team was so disgusted with what was occurring that she resigned and gave Dr. Savage a copy of the suppressed report. Dr. Savage then submitted the report in support of her retaliation claims that were already pending before the agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) office.
Once the draft report was released, the commander had little option but to allow a final report to be issued. The final report’s release meant that an outside army officer would be brought in to review the alleged wrongdoing and issue an official Army AR15–6 report. The Army officer’s final report explicitly stated that Dr. Savage was the only person who did the right thing and deserved praise. At the same time, he condemned the commander, chief legal counsel, and others for allowing the fraudulent contracting behavior to fester. That report was then secreted and never made known. Instead, Dr. Savage became the enemy and was subjected to sadistic treatment that included insensitive racial conduct. While one would hope the report’s release would have fixed the problem, it ended up doing the opposite.
For the full story, visit Whistleblower Network News and RSVP for National Whistleblower Day to learn more about intriguing whistleblowers like Toni Savage, and to hear from whistleblower advocates about how federal whistleblowers can navigate the MSPB system during the first ever Whistleblower Bootcamp.
