Whistleblowers are usually employees who inform the authorities that their employer is violating the law or engaged in dangerous behavior
Whistleblowers are usually company insiders. Usually, a single employee witnesses the company engaging in corruption and illegal activities during this person’s employment. The insider then reports these violations to a government agency.
The law highly regards whistleblowers. Without whistleblowers, the government would not have the direct eyewitness testimony needed to secure a conviction against corporate wrongdoers.
These reported violations stretch across a broad spectrum of crimes and unlawful conduct, from fraud and kickback schemes to health and safety violations perpetrated by a drug manufacturer to an unsuspecting public.
Since whistleblowers can become a target for reporting violations to the government, laws have been enacted at both the state and federal levels to shield the whistleblower from corporate retaliation.
Employers who attempt to silence or take their revenge on the whistleblower face severe civil and even criminal penalties.
Examples of retaliation include:
- Denying benefits
- Verbally harassing the employee
- Threatening the employee
- Reducing employee hours
- Publicly blaming the employee for poor job performance
