Whistleblower protections provide employees who report violations of laws or regulations with certain rights against retaliatory employment actions with certain rights against retaliatory employment actions. The following is a summary of what an employer should know to protect itself from whistleblower claims.
There are various sources from which an employee may seek protection against employer retaliation for whistleblowing. These sources include:
With regard to state and federal statutory protection, whistleblower protection for employees may arise from general whistleblower statutes or topic- and industry-specific statutes, which include whistleblower provisions. These, topic- and industry-specific statutes may provide protection to certain employees who report employer actions that violate the particular statute. Unlike general whistleblower statutes, topic- and industry-specific statutes will apply to a limited number of unlawful activities.
In addition, not all state and federal statutes contain whistleblower provisions. However, state common law protection such as the public policy exception to the employment at-will doctrine may provide alternative protection to whistleblowers that are not afforded protection under...
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