A centralised office that will offer impartial reviews and judgements on claims of manager misconduct has been formed, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The new office, which goes by the name of The Office of Investigations and Professional Responsibility, also intends to defend those who come forward with safety-related complaints and whistleblowers. The newly established office will assist the administration's 2021 launch of the FAA's Voluntary Safety Reporting Program.
The program, according to the FAA, enables employees who work for the agency's Aviation Safety division to anonymously report any safety issues without worrying about facing repercussions. In order to evaluate or verify an aviation safety concern, find the underlying reason, and choose the best course of action, information exchanged and reported via the system is used.
The US Department of Labor pursued legal action against a business aviation firm in March 2022 for providing false information to have a former employee fired from their new position. The employee in question voiced safety concerns, therefore this was done in revenge. OSHA investigators discovered that after the former worker reported safety concerns that prompted an onsite inspection, the business sent the worker's new employer a falsified and unfavourable Pilot Records Improvement Act report, which resulted in the worker's termination. Whistleblowers are protected by the Office of Investigations and Professional Responsibility in an effort to prevent similar instances of retaliation.