Sen. Kerry: SBA must protect whistleblowers

When Small Business Administration officials pried into the e-mail inbox of an employee supplying anonymous testimony to the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, the committee chairman said the result could have a chilling effect on oversight.

Employees can’t be guaranteed confidentiality when managers arbitrarily look into employee’s e-mail messages, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) wrote in a letter, which he sent today to SBA Administrator Steve Preston.

The letter is based on a report from SBA’s inspector general that was released in October. The IG found that a manager in the Office of Disaster Assistance retrieved e-mail messages from an employee who was a confidential source for the IG and Kerry’s committee.

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SBA stumbles on e-mail privacy

The Small Business Administration has issued a temporary directive to prevent officials from accessing employees’ e-mail inboxes without prior approval from the chief privacy officer. SBA published the directive after officials discovered the agency had no e-mail policy to protect whistle-blowers.

SBA officials, with help from the agency’s general counsel and inspector general, also are drafting an agencywide policy that would establish rules for conducting an administrative review of an employee’s e-mail messages and the appropriate authorization needed for such a review.


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SBA drafts policy on authorizing access to employee e-mail

Small Business Administration officials are drafting an agencywide policy to determine the authorization necessary to review an SBA employee’s e-mail messages, officials said Oct. 25.

In August, SBA’s assistant inspector general for auditing, Debra Ritt, told Liu that a manager in the Office of Disaster Assistance retrieved e-mail messages from an employee who was a confidential source for the IG and a congressional committee.

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Industry to evaluate GSA's grasp on info protection services

As it works to construct a new multiple-award schedule contract, the General Services Administration wants to understand how businesses deal with securing information.

GSA officials developed a proposed catalog of commercial services to help departments comply with regulations and laws to safeguard confidential information, according to a request for information posted today on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site.

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COMING UP IN THIS CONGRESS: Subcommittee will examine information privacy, security

With privacy concerns heightened after incidents of stolen laptop computers and information breaches in 2006, the newly appointed chairman of the House information policy subcommittee plans to delve into the problems surrounding technology and privacy.

Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Information Policy, Census and National Archives Subcommittee, whose jurisdiction covers public information and records laws such as the Freedom of Information Act, the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act; the Census Bureau; and the National Archives and Records Administration.

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