All Hail the royal court and his majesty King George of the Modern era. Slayer of democracy and patron of the money changer.
Protector of no environment, Liege of the logger.
Champion of the rich and deserter of the poor.
Lord of the lie and tyrant of the truth.
Hear ye, Hear ye!
Citing an "unpublished opinion of the [Attorney General's] Office of Legal Counsel," the Secretary of Labor's Administrative Review Board has ruled federal employees may no longer pursue whistleblower claims under the Clean Water Act. The opinion invoked the ancient doctrine of sovereign immunity which is based on the old English legal maxim that "The King Can Do No Wrong." It is an absolute defense to any legal action unless the "sovereign" consents to be sued.
Consents to be Sued?
Whatever shall we do with these plebes that dare to speak of our dastardly deeds?
Lord Chaney...he will know how to deal with these trouble makers...he could take them afield, pheasant hunting...no too messy....hmmmm.
Royal Barrister Gonzalez! Click your magic pen and make me IMMUNE!
At the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a more extreme position that absolutely no environmental laws protect its employees from reprisal. EPA's stance would place the provisions of all major federal environmental laws, such as the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, beyond the reach of federal employees seeking legal protection for good faith efforts to enforce or implement the anti-pollution provisions contained within those laws.
Lord Secretary of Labor do my bidding!
These actions arose in the case of Sharyn Erickson, an EPA employee who had reported problems with agency contracts for toxic clean-ups. After conducting a hearing, an administrative law judge called EPA's conduct "reprehensible" and awarded Erickson $225,000 in punitive damages but the Labor Secretary overturned that ruling.
