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1906 Pure Food and Drug Act
The release of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair in February of 1906 helped spark the creation of the Pure Food and Drug Act. This legislation banned retailers from selling mislabeled, misleading, or doctored food or drugs. This act has impacted how these products are prepared, packaged, labeled, sold, and advertised. (https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/united-states-and-canada/us-history/food-and-drug-act-1906) -
1966 Freedom of Information Act
In 1952 John Moss began to realize that hundreds of his fellow federal employee coworkers were being fired after being accused of being Communists. According to Moss, "The present trend toward government secrecy could end in a dictatorship. The more information that is made available, the greater will be the nation’s security". This Act passed in 1966 and plays a role in keeping our executive branch transparent and accountable. https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/freedom-of-information-act -
1978 Civil Service Reform Act
Built on the back of the The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883, this act helped eliminate some undesirable hiring practices that took place within our federal government. The CSRA created guidelines for releasing employees from their post, reaffirmed the merit system of hiring employees, and prohibited practices of nepotism and discrimination due to sex, race, or religion. It was signed into effect on October 13, 1978 by Jimmy Carter. https://ballotpedia.org/Civil_Service_Reform_Act -
1978 Ethics in Govenment Act
This act created rules to prevent misuse of information garnered while employed with the federal government. It made it so high ranking government officials need to disclose financial records, prohibits certain activities for former federal agents, and created new protocols for maintaining ethical standards. This act also established the Office of Government Ethics. https://definitions.uslegal.com/e/ethics-in-government-act-of-1978/ -
1989 Whistleblower Protection Act
By this time, whistleblowing was already protected under the CSRA of 1978. However, there were no specifics to that protection. This Act created provisions that highlighted the importance of whistleblowing in reducing fraud, and promised to keep those who spoke out safe from retaliation from their employers from doing so by having the Office of Special Counsel investigate.claims. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/whistleblower-protection-act-1989 -
2002 No Fear Act
The No Fear Act was signed into law by then President Bush in 2002. This act makes each federal agency responsible for the cost of any settlements acquired from cases regarding whistleblowing or discrimination. This law also requires federal employees to be made aware of their rights under the governments discrimination laws as well as the Whistleblower Protection Act. https://www.nlrb.gov/reports/regulatory-reports-and-notices/no-fear-act -
2002 Sarbanes Oxley Act
After years of fraudulent action from major corporations, the US needed a response to keep companies like WorldCom and Enron responsible for their actions against the public at large. The SOX Act implemented regulating financial records from publicly traded companies private or not. This act also protects employees or contracted employees from retaliation if they chose to speak out against any wrong doing they may have witnesses. https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/Sarbanes-Oxley-Act
