Hotline
You may report fraud, waste, mismanagement, or misconduct involving SBA programs or employees either online or by calling the OIG Hotline toll-free at (800) 767-0385.
You may choose to make an anonymous complaint. Please bear in mind, however, that receiving complaints anonymously often hinders our ability to investigate the complaint fully as we are generally unable to contact you with requests for clarification and follow-up information. Also, we will not be able to inform you about the results of our review.
You may also request that your identity remain confidential. In this case, SBA OIG will not release your name without your prior consent unless we determine that such disclosure is absolutely unavoidable during the course of an investigation or audit.
If you are having a problem with a product or service purchased from a business or merchant, you should contact your state or local government's consumer affairs department, state attorney general's office, or local Better Business Bureau.
If you have a question regarding an SBA loan or any SBA program, please contact your local SBA District Office or the SBA Answer Desk at 1-800-U-ASK-SBA (1-800-827-5722) or answerdesk@sba.gov.
Whistleblower Protection
Federal law prohibits governmental personnel from retaliating against an employee who acts as a whistleblower by reporting suspected waste, fraud or abuse to the OIG. Under the Federal prohibited personnel practices, 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b), employees may not “take or fail to take, or threaten to take or fail to take, a personnel action with respect to any employee or applicant for employment” because the person has disclosed information to an OIG which he or she reasonably believes is evidence of (1) a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or (2) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, so long as the disclosure is not specifically prohibited by law or Executive Order.
Employees who believe that they have been subjected to a prohibited personnel practice, including retaliation for making a disclosure to an OIG, can file a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which is an independent Federal agency. The complaint can be filed by contacting the OSC Complaints Examining Unit (1-800-872-9855) or by going to OSC’s website, www.osc.gov. If OSC opens an investigation, and finds sufficient evidence to prove a violation, OSC can seek corrective action, disciplinary action, or both.
Employees may also seek corrective action if subjected to any adverse personnel action because of whistleblowing by filing an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Appeals from adverse actions listed in 5 CFR § 1201.3 can be filed directly with the MSPB. Other appeals can only be filed if the employee first seeks corrective action from OSC. More information can be found at: http://www.mspb.gov/appeals/whistleblower.htm.
Recovery Act Whistleblower Protection
Section 1553 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) extends similar protections to employees of non-Federal employers (such as employees of state and local government or contractors) relating to contracts, grants and other Federal disbursements of money appropriated by the Recovery Act (“covered funds”). That statute provides that an employee of any non-Federal employer receiving covered funds may not be discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for disclosing, including a disclosure made in the ordinary course of an employee’s duties, to an inspector general information that the employee reasonably believes is evidence of: (1) gross mismanagement of an agency contract or grant relating to covered funds; (2) a gross waste of covered funds; (3) a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety related to the implementation or use of covered funds; (4) an abuse of authority related to the implementation or use of covered funds; or (5) a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to an agency contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract) or grant, awarded or issued relating to covered funds. The text of the Recovery Act can be obtained at this link: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr1enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr1enr.pdf.
Under the Recovery Act, the OIG has jurisdiction to investigate whistleblower complaints alleging reprisal for protected disclosures relating to Small Business Administration Recovery Act funds. To file a complaint, you can submit your report online or by calling the OIG Hotline toll-free at (800) 767-0385.
