Workforce: November 2014 Archives

A Question of Loyalty, Pasadena Weekly

"Over the past eight months, Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Cate Heneghan said she has been dealing with what she considers to be an abuse of authority by NASA, which has been trying to force her to sign what amounts to a loyalty oath -- asking intrusive questions about her allegiance to the United States. Heneghan, who was born and raised in Bethesda, Md., studied at New Mexico State and USC and has dual citizenship with Ireland, argues that the questions do not conform to NASA guidelines. "How is it JPL is implementing these questions beyond the adjudicative standard, which is required in HSPD-12?" asked Heneghan, who does concept development design for NASA missions and has been at JPL for 26 years. "No one can answer that question."

Earlier HSPD-12 postings

Caltech professor claims Israeli spy infiltrated JPL, Pasadena Star News

"Sandra Troian alleges Caltech administrators ignored the school's whistleblower policy and retaliated against her for the past four years because if they had documented her concern, they could have put an $8 billion contract with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at risk and put the school in a bad light. Troian said she is frightened for her career. ...

... "In a statement issued late Thursday, Caltech called Troian's lawsuit meritless and said the institution always abides by export control laws and ITAR. It also regularly cooperates with government agencies such as the FBI, the statement said. "The plaintiff, who was dissatisfied with the outcome of a recent internal campus investigation into her decision to list her cat as the author of a published abstract and omit recognition of a postdoctoral scholar who performed related research, suffered no retaliation and remains an active faculty member of the institution," the Caltech statement said."