Whistleblower Law

A whistleblower is a person who reports some form of wrongdoing within an organization, typically the person's employer. A whistleblower might level allegations of criminality or corruption to other workers within the organization or to outside regulators, law enforcement agencies, watchdog groups or the media. Frequently, the organization will retaliate by firing, demoting or otherwise punishing the whistleblower. The whistleblower may also become a victim of harassment by co-workers. Any of these situations could give rise to a cause of action called a retaliation claim.

Retaliation Claims

Retaliation claims fall under the purview of constitutional civil rights. Up until recently, the First Amendment right to freedom of speech has commonly been used to protect whistleblowers from the consequences of employer retaliation, but the U.S. Supreme Court recently dealt a major setback to whistleblowers by ruling government employees are not protected from retaliation in job performance evaluations under the First Amendment if the speech in question was produced in the course of the employee's official job duties. Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 US 410 (2006). This means whistleblowers who pursue a federal cause of action under a First Amendment theory must show the memos and writings are not only part of their official job duty but are also a citizen's constitutionally protected opinion and contain discourse of public relevance.

Complicated Legal Process

The Lloyd-La Follette Act of 1912 secured the right of federal employees to report information to Congress without fear of reprisal and was the first U.S. whistleblower law. Over the last century, whistleblower law has become a complicated web of overlapping federal and state laws which supersede each other, making it an extremely difficult task to understand how to approach each specific situation. Deadlines and filing procedures vary widely, from as little as 10 days to several years, so victims of retaliation must be aware of which laws apply to their specific circumstance and to what entity the complaint must be properly directed. To illustrate the complexity, state employees in Ohio and Arizona only have 10 days to make complaints before their own state personnel boards. Federal statutes allow whistleblowers 45 days to file a claim and specific criteria must be met

State Statutes of Limitations

A person who suffers adverse employment action after reporting someone who made a false claim against the federal government may have up to six years to file a civil suit under the False Claims Act depending on the specific state law in the jurisdiction where the false report occurred. The whistleblower may also be awarded a percentage of what the government recovers from those who filed the false claim. Environmental whistleblowers have up to 30 days to register a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, yet those reporting corporate fraud and airline worker claims get 90 days and truck drivers have 180 days to submit complaints to the same agency. Employees in the private sector have either 180 or 300 days to make a complaint to the Equal Opportunity Commission depending on the circumstances.

Seeking Legal Consultation

Remedies are available for workers retaliated against in the workplace for reporting illegal and unethical behavior. Due to the complexity of the massive body of whistleblower laws, it is important to act immediately and contact an attorney with extensive experience in this area to evaluate your case and make sure all deadlines are met and the claim is filed with the proper entity.