Veterans Affairs employee and whistleblower Scott Davis discussed "harassment" he endured after revealing concerns about the embattled department to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors Tuesday at a Veterans Affairs Committee hearing.
"The harassment I have experienced at the HEC from top levels of management include my whistleblower complaint to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors was leaked to my manager Sherry Williams, who stated in writing, that she was contacting me on behalf of Acting Secretary [Sloan] Gibson and Mr. Rob Nabors," he said. "Neither Mr. Gibson nor Mr. Nabors have responded to this fact."
Davis said he contacted Nabors about four weeks ago with various problems, including mismanagement of health programs, scheduling issues and enrollment system shortcomings.
"As the point of contact for the White House, I wanted him to be aware of what was going on in our office," Davis said. "After sending that information to Mr. Nabors, I did not receive a response. I subsequently contacted the office of Deputy Chief of Staff Anita Breckenridge. I also did not receive a response, until after receiving notification from Ms. Sherry Williams that she was contacting me on behalf of the acting secretary and Mr. Rob Nabors. This surprised me that Ms. Williams would do this because she is a former OIG representative."
No action has been taken to discipline Williams, Davis said, and he added this goes to the heart of the question of whether the VA should be allowed to police itself.
Davis also said his employment records were illegally altered by CBO Work Force Management Director Joyce Deters and that he was "illegally placed on a permanent work detail by Assistant Deputy Under Secretary Philip Matkovsky and Acting Chief Business Officer Stephanie Mardon."
"I was placed on involuntary administrative leave, curiously at the same time the OIG's investigation was occurring in Atlanta by Acting HEC Director Greg Becker," he added.
"Unfortunately, my experience is not unique at VA," Davis said, going on to discuss employees who experienced the same retaliation for reporting medical errors and patient neglect "as well as misconduct by senior VA police officials."