The lives and careers of employees can be damaged by pressure from an employer to commit illegal acts. Employees have the right to resist engaging in illegal conduct and to report it without fear of punishment and retaliation.  When a company retaliates against an employee for reporting an illegal act on the part of their employer, this is known as whistle blowing, and is a violation of rights and against the law. It is also known as a qui tam claim. Whistleblowers – those who report wrongdoing by their employer – can face hostility and punishment from companies that want to silence them.  The following actions by a company may be characterized as retaliatory:

  • Termination
  • Refusal of overtime pay
  • Any intimidation
  • Release from employment
  • Promotion denial
  • Threatening speech
  • Intimidation
  • Unfair discipline
  • Reducing job duties
  • Reduction of hours of work
  • Lowering the employee’s compensation

There are a number of laws that protect whistleblowers, such as the Whistleblower Protection Act, the False Claims Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the Dodd-Frank Act. But these laws are complex, and employers often have a substantial interest in making sure that their illegal conduct never comes to light.

OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) protects whistleblowers who report certain types of unsafe conditions in the workplace. For example, if you work in a factory that contains hazardous chemicals, OSHA requires your company to take a number of safeguards to protect you, such as providing safety equipment, training you in the use of the chemicals, and maintaining documentation explaining what to do in the event of a hazardous chemical spill. If your employer does not follow these rules, and you blow the whistle on the employer, OSHA’s whistleblower provisions provide you with protection against retaliation by your employer.

The False Claims Act

If your employer does business with the federal government, then your employer is covered by a number of federal laws governing how it must behave in dealing with the government. Unfortunately, some employers are tempted to cheat the government by overbilling for goods and services (remember the $800 toilet seat?) or providing inferior quality products below specified standards. If you witness such cheating by your employer and blow the whistle, you are protected by the False Claims Act.   If you report a violation to the government and the government takes the case, you are eligible to receive a portion (usually about 15 to 25 percent) of any recovered damages. Some successful plaintiffs have recovered millions of dollars in False Claims cases.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Sarbanes-Oxley is the name of a group of federal securities laws passed in response to the Enron scandal that require detailed disclosures of financial information by publicly traded U.S. companies. The law contains powerful anti-whistleblower provisions that provide that your employer may not retaliate against you if you:

  • Provide information or assist in any investigation regarding conduct that you reasonably believe constitutes a violation of federal securities fraud statutes or SEC rules, provided the investigation is conducted by a federal regulatory or law enforcement agency, any Member of Congress or Congressional Committee, or a person with managerial authority within the publicly traded corporation; or
  • File, testify, participate in, or otherwise assist in any proceeding related to an alleged violation of corporate fraud laws or regulations.

Whistleblowers perform a public service by upholding the law, as well as what is ethical and fair. Because whistleblowers assume a risk, and often must spend considerable time and effort pressing their claims, whistleblowers can be entitled to substantial rewards. However, it’s important to note that some of these laws have extremely short statutes of limitations. Some like OSHA, can be as short as 30 days. So, if you have any question about whistleblowing, don’t delay; call a law firm that has experience in this area and can take the quick action necessary to protect you.