Former Lawrence Livermore Employee Alleges Whistleblower Retaliation

“When issues are raised to [lab] management, it does not come across as being the honorable thing to do,” Rivera said to NS&D Monitor. “It comes across as stepping on someone’s toes.” Rivera said Livermore employees who raise questions are considered “combative” and those who make suggestions regarding lab facilities are considered “disruptive.” According to Rivera, “this is the language that they use to get rid of employees.” Lynda Seaver, spokeswoman for LLNL’s managing body, Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC, told NS&D Monitor that Rivera was terminated “due to myriad performance issues,” and that “his complaints of fraud, gross mismanagement, abuse of authority, retaliation, and on and on, are baseless.” Seaver said that the case “has been adjudicated by several outside agencies,” resulting in dismissal of Rivera’s appeal attempts. She added that “an administrative law judge determined Rivera was entitled to unemployment benefits,” but that “there was no ruling that the reasons given [for his termination] were false.”