Overview

The attorneys at Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP have achieved successful outcomes when representing employees who blow the whistle on misconduct in a wide range of fields and industries. Whether in financial institutions or in nuclear plants or in hospitals, it is increasingly recognized that employees who step forward to speak out about unsafe or unlawful activities play an invaluable role in society.

Whistleblowers have never been more important than they are today. Since the huge corporate frauds at Enron and WorldCom in 2002 — Time Magazine’s “Year of the Whistleblower” — protections for whistleblowers have increased dramatically. A number of laws at the federal and state levels protect whistleblowers from unlawful retaliation, which can range from harassment to termination and can include any action that would negatively impact the terms and conditions of the whistleblower’s employment or would otherwise dissuade a reasonable person from engaging in protected conduct. This includes demotion, termination, denial of benefits, failure to hire or promote, reassignment, intimidation, shunning, etc.

Federal Laws Protecting Whistleblowers

Federal laws protect whistleblowers in a variety of fields. For employees in the nuclear industry, the Energy Reorganization Act of 1978 protects employees and contractors who provide information about, or participate in investigations relating to, what they believe to be violations of nuclear safety laws and standards. Employees of publicly traded companies who face retaliation for reporting fraud on shareholders or violations of securities laws are protected by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, passed by Congress in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom scandals. Federal employees can pursue retaliation claims under the Whistleblower Protection Act. The False Claims Act prohibits retaliation against employees for disclosing fraud against the federal government. And employees of private businesses and state and local governments who make disclosures about misuse of the federal government’s stimulus funds are protected by the McCaskill Amendment that was passed by Congress on February 12, 2009. These federal laws are just a few of the many laws that protect employees who speak out about wrongdoing.

State Laws Protecting Whistleblowers

Many states have enacted their own statutory whistleblower protections. Some of these laws protect only public employees and others protect private employees as well. Many states also recognize a common-law action for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, which means that an employer may not terminate an employee for reasons that would violate important public policies of the state, such as those that prohibit fraud or other crimes.

What Activities Are Protected?

The precise definition of “protected activity” varies by statute. In general, however, whistleblower protection laws cover a broad range of activities including internal disclosures (providing information to a supervisor) or external complaints (providing information to a government agency) about conduct that the whistleblower reasonably believes to be a violation of some law, rule, or regulation. Typically, a whistleblower must prove that he or she engaged in protected activity, that the employer knew that he or she did so, that the employer took an adverse personnel action against the employee; and that the protected activity was the cause of the employer’s decision to take the adverse action.

What Remedies are Available?

Many whistleblower-protection laws provide for recovery of back pay, pay for future lost wages, compensatory damages, and litigation costs including attorney’s fees. Some whistleblower protection laws, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, also provide for reinstatement, sometimes even before going to court. Some whistleblower protection laws also provide for exemplary or punitive damages.

The lawyers at Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP are nationally recognized as experts in the representation of whistleblowers, and regularly publish and lecture on whistleblower-protection legal issues. If you are thinking about reporting misconduct, or if you have already blown the whistle and are facing retaliation, contact the experienced lawyers at Katz, Marshall & Banks for an evaluation of your case.