It was not until 1986 when a law protecting whistleblowers is
made. Congress added an anti-retaliation protection to the then
existing False Claims Act.
A whistleblower is a person who tells on something he believes
is an illegal act. The employees are the most commonly known
whistleblower. They tell on their employers which they suspect
is doing or committing an illegal act.
Under the Whistleblower Protection Law, the employee should not
be discharged, denoted, suspended, threatened or harassed in any
form that discriminates the terms and conditions of his
employment because of the legal act done by the employee.
The employee may be of aid in many ways possible on the
investigation, testimony and the likes. However there are some
constraints under the whistleblower protection law.
Reporting illegal acts that are only within the company is a
ground for exemption. But still there may be public policies
that could protect the employee from retaliation
If it turns out that an employer didn't actually break a law,
the employee is still entitled to whistle blower protection from
retaliation, if he reasonably believed that the employer
committed an illegal act.
The whistleblower protection law does not cover employer
retaliation for complaints about personal loathe. Office
politics is not to be used as a basis for filing a complaint
against the employer and use the whistleblower protection for
personal gain.
In order for the employee to be protected from employer
retaliation, he may the have a suspected desecration of any
Federal Law. But the supposed violation should have provisions
that the law violated will protect whistleblowers.
The Whistleblower Federal Law, unlike the False Claims Act,
allows the whistleblower to file a lawsuit in a federal court.
The Federal Whistleblower Law does not permit the whistleblower
to go directly to the court.
The individuals concerned are pursued administratively. These
individuals concerned could file a complaint or charge to
retaliate with or without a lawyer to represent them. However if
the case is not resolved immediately, the administrative law
judge may then preside over the only evidentiary hearing that
may take place.
A whistleblower should not attempt to delay an investigation of
the possible legal remedy. To maintain this ruling, the
retaliation should then be brought to the attention of an
appropriate government official within 30 days, else the
complaint could not be pursued.
Most states have some sort of statutory or common law
"whistleblower" or anti-retaliation laws. Like the federal
whistleblower laws, not every lawyer will know about these laws,
especially laws outside their own state.
These states and the District of Columbia have recognized a
public policy exception to the "employment at will doctrine":
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas,
Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and
Wyoming.
Some states have explicit statutory protections for
whistleblowers. These include: California, Connecticut,
Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan,
Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Washington.
There are also state laws that offer special protections just
for their own state or local government employees: Alaska,
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia,
Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana,
Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West
Virginia and Wisconsin.
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