Protection Given to Whistleblowers

There are instances when employees notice certain wrongdoings that occur in their workplace. Some of them may choose not to meddle or remain silent while others take necessary steps in order to stop its continuance. In order to provide protection to employees who choose not to remain silent, certain federal laws are established.

What is a Whistleblower?

An employee who complains when it comes to a misconduct done by a company is called as a whistleblower. In addition, an employee who did not file the official complaint but took part in its investigation is also regarded as such.

There are various company misconducts that an employee may notice or complain about. Some of the misconducts that happen in a company include:

Violation in health and safety regulations

Financial mismanagement

Shareholder fraud

Security given to Whistleblowers

To protect whistleblowers from any unjust actions that can be done to them like retaliation, among others, federal and state laws were established to govern their safety.

These laws forbid employers to retaliate in any way, employees who:

report company misconducts

take part in a legal proceeding with regard to an alleged misconduct of a company

refuse to any activities done by the company that is illegal

Federal laws continuously govern and protect whistleblowers from the possibility that their employers will perform an unjust act against them. One of the federal laws enacted is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Protection Acquired by Whistleblowers through Sarbanes-Oxley Act

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was enacted by the Congress, is primarily aimed at preventing financial shenanigans as well as shareholder fraud in publicly traded companies. Its provisions also make a strong protection to all whistleblowers.

This law provides protection to employees who complain that certain federal laws are violated by their employers including:

mail, wire, or bank fraud

security laws

shareholder fraud

Employees need not to be right in order to acquire protection given by the Act. Employees are regarded as whistleblowers as long as they have a belief which is reasonable, that a legal violation occurred.

Employees are not required to complain to a government agency in order to be protected. The Act’s whistleblower protection is triggered even in a complaint within the company.

Ways to Avoid Whistleblower Claims

Whistleblower lawsuits can cause devastating effects on the part of the company. One of such effects is damaging the company’s pocketbook as well as reputation. There are certain ways that can be done by employers in order to prevent whistleblower claims. The following ways are:

Implement a complaint policy - Make sure that you have a complain policy wherein it is emphasized that employees who complain will not be retaliated. In addition, you must make sure that all the employees understand the said policy.

Investigate employees’ complaints - Upon receiving a complaint of misconduct or a wrongdoing, you must thoroughly investigate it as well as take necessary measures to correct it. This is necessary because if you ignore it, your employees will feel discouraged from making them. As a result of this, they might take their complaints directly to lawyers or government agencies.

Do not put blame on the whistleblower - You should treat employees who complained with respect, especially if they are complaining about a disturbing misconduct.

Importance of Whistleblower Protection

Through the whistleblower protection, employees will not be afraid to voice out their complaints. In addition, through the protection offered by both federal and state laws to whistleblowers, employers will not be able to stop these employees from doing what they think is right.