§3236 Inspector General external review panel

Summary

A person who says they suffered a banned personnel action or a forbidden reprisal, and who has finished the agency’s review process or appeal, can ask the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community to have an outside panel look at their claim. The Inspector General may decide to form a three-person panel: the Inspector General plus two other inspectors general picked case-by-case from a group of 11 agencies (for example, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, Justice, State, Treasury, CIA, DIA, NGA, NRO, and NSA). An inspector general cannot serve on a panel about a decision by their own agency. The Inspector General chairs the panel unless they must step aside; then they pick a chair from the same group and tell the congressional intelligence committees. The panel must finish its review within 270 days after it is formed. If the panel finds the person was wrongly treated, it can recommend fixes. For current or former employees, that can include returning them to the job they likely would have held or rechecking their security clearance. The head of the agency that gets a recommendation has 90 days to consider it and must tell the panel and the Director of National Intelligence what action was taken. If an agency head fails to give that notice, the Director must tell the President. At least once a year, the Inspector General must report to the congressional intelligence committees and the Director of National Intelligence on the panels’ work and the agencies’ responses, while protecting individuals’ privacy.