Northeast

The term “whistleblower” refers to an individual who turns in a person, organization, or group who is believe to be involved in illegal, immoral, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate activities. The negative consequences that whistleblowers have traditionally faced has led to the enactment of state and national legislation to offer whistleblower’s protection.

Background on Whistleblowers

The term “whistleblower” is in reference to a referee or, in the past, a law enforcement officer who “blows the whistle” on illegal or inappropriate actions. The term “whistleblowing” retains an overall unfavorable image with the public, and it is considered synonymous with the terms “tattletale,” “mole,” “snitch,” and “stool pigeon.”

A whistleblower may report on any action that is deemed inappropriate, including threats to public health or safety, fraud, corruption in any form, and violations of law, policy, and regulation. Some whistleblowers choose to expose wrongdoing internally by reporting to the organization a violation committed by an employee, supervisor, contractor, or the organization itself. Other times, whistleblowers choose external means: drawing the attention of lawmakers, law enforcement, media outlets, advocacy groups, or the general public.

National Legal Protection for Whistleblowers

Historically, whistleblowers have faced oppression, discrimination, or retaliation from coworkers, supervisors, the organization, and other impacted individuals. In the United States, various laws have been enacted over the past 150 years that have provided various levels of protection for whistleblowers. The first such law was the False Claims Act of 1863, which, in an attempt to uncover fraudulent contractor claims, offered whistleblowers a percentage of the damages recovered. Between its enactment and 2008, the government recovered nearly $22 billion

Since that time, other federal legislation has included the following:

• The Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Solid Waste Disposal Act, Clean Air Act, and other similar environmental legislation enacted between 1970 and 1990 provide protection for federal employees who feel that they suffered negative consequences for their “whistleblowing.”
• A different form of protection was offered to federal employees through the Lloyd-La Follette Act of 1912, which enabled federal employees to provide information to Congress and protected them from being subject to unwarranted dismissal or demotion.
• Sarbanes–Oxley Act, enacted in 2002, specifically focuses on corporate whistleblowers and imposes criminal penalties on those who retaliate against whistleblowers.

Key State Whistleblower Legislation

Several US states have stepped in to provide protection for whistleblowers. California prevents employers from making policies that affect employees’ abilities to disclose information relevant to false claims inquiries. In addition, this California False Claims Act (CFCA) helps to protect federal employees who cooperate with government investigations from suffering any negative work-related consequences. New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act makes even more extensive security provisions for whistleblowers, providing protection for individuals who disclose information, testify to that information, or refuse to engage in actions they deem illegal, immoral, fraudulent, or unsafe.

While public opinion of whistleblowing remains largely negative, federal and state laws enacted in the last 150 years have attempted to give whistleblowers protection from negative employer reactions.