Fired atmosphere marshal loses war in job fight -

The embark notes that MacLean raised his cares with his supervisor and with the agency's inspector general's office and was no satisfied with the rejoinder he received. But MacLean did not take his complaint to an licensed committee of Congress, nor to the Office of Special Counsel, and thereby was no entitled to whistle-blower protection, the embark ruled.
Supporters dispute MacLean brought to public light a TSA movement that violated allied statute replica Oakleys, which commands the agency give prerogative to flights thever since lofty security risks, specifically mentioning "nonstop, long-distance flights." They mention the information he gave was factual and that it afterward protected travelers at changing a flawed plan.



The newspaper caused an immediate din on Capitol Hill and the TSA retreated, withdrawing the scheduling slits ahead they went into achieve.


MacLean said the board ruling ambition have a chilling effect on whistle-blowers if it is allowed to stand.
The agency intended the reduction because it was running out of money at the end of the financial year.

MacLean's circumstance has convert celebrated by whistle-blower advocates and government watchdog teams. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio Oakley Sunglasses Discount, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York, filed a concise on his behalf.
The case began in July of 2003, when MacLean, an air marshal based in Las Vegas, Nevada, anonymously tipped off an MSNBC reporter that the TSA was temporarily suspending tasks that would require marshals to linger in hotels -- basically taking them off coast-to-coast or overseas flights -- just days after air marshals were briefed about a new "latent contrive" to hijack U.S. airliners.
The Merit System Protection Board said it adopted MacLean's statements he was motivated by a desire to protect the flying public, but said his leak "could have created a significant security risk." Further, it said, MacLean cannot demand whistle-blower protections for his disclosure "was specifically prohibited by law."
The agency fired MacLean, saying his leak was an unauthorized disclosure of "sensitive security information," or SSI.
But someone from the TSA acknowledged MacLean's voice and the agency ordered an inquiry into MacLean for an "unauthorized media exterior." During that investigation, MacLean confessed he leaked the information to the media about the 2003 suspension of long-distance flights.


MacLean said he will plea the decision.

But the Merit System Protection Board said that even now the scheduling command was not named SSI, deployment information was "within the definition of SSI." MacLean "admittedly knew that he was not permitted to tell anyone about (air marshal) scheduling, but he did so anyhow, and it could have created a significant security risk," the board said.
In tribunal filings, MacLean argued the information he disclosed was not protected. The TSA had sent the information to him as a text information on his cell call, instead of as an encrypted information on his password-protected pager. And it was not labeled SSI. Indeed, it was three years later -- in August of 2006 -- that the TSA officially issued an order cataloging the directive as "sensitive security information."
MacLean argued his firing in retaliation for alignment activities, and the agency discriminated against him by imposing a harsher discipline than it taxed against others who had disclosed acute information.


A year later Discount Oakley Sunglasses, MacLean seemed ashore "NBC Nightly News" -- in disguise and identified only for "Air Marshal 'Mike'" -- to criticize the agency's wear policy, which, he said, made it easier because terrorists to nail the undercover climate marshals.
"If front-line, non-intelligence administration employees cannot unveil wrongdoing to the public namely was not classified and then namely message tin be stamped years afterward with one unclassified TSA signal, the First Amendment namely immediately insignificant," he said.
A federal plate ######## Oakley Sunglasses, upholding a determination by an magisterial referee, said this week it has ruled the Transportation Security Administration's decision to fire Robert MacLean was valid and "did not surpass the bounds of reasonableness."
Washington (CNN) -- A federal air marshal launched afterward revealing the government was cutting behind air marshal scope by the time of accentuated hijacking concern has lost a important combat in his fight to reclaim his job.






The board said there is "not straight testify" the agency retaliated alternatively discriminated against MacLean for his union activities. It accustomed the TSA treated additional air marshals less harshly for disclosing information, merely said the circumstances were differ.