Important Information On the Whistleblower Protection Act
What is the Whistleblower Protection Act (or WPA)? The False Claims Act received some additional provisions in 1986. These provisions did not exist prior to 1986 and most of them were anti-retaliatory in nature. Now contained in 31 U.S.C. Section 3730 (h), these provisions are recognized as the Whistleblower Protection Act.
Function of Whistleblower Protection Act
This act covers retaliation against people whose charges can successfully support a False Claims Act whether a case has been filed in the court of law or not.
Where is Whistleblower Protection Act applicable?
This law is applicable in a majority of the states in the United States. As a matter of fact, 42 states have recognized the public policy with an exception. This exception to the public policy concerns ‘employment at doctrine.’ Also, 19 states in the US have clear rulings that protect whistleblowers. As many as 38 states in the US extend this protection to employees working with the local government. This protection is given to the own state as well.
Important considerations about Whistleblower Protection Act
If you want to file a claim under the Whistleblower’s Protection Act, it is important that you understand all fundamentals. Primarily, it is important to know where to file a claim under the Whistleblower Protection Act. At the moment, there are more than fifty laws meant to deal with issues related to anti-retaliation. Therefore, claims pertaining to these laws are not filed with just one office.
Most of the federal laws related to whistleblowers are under the direct administration of the United States Department of Labor. It is important that the complaint filed under this act is given in writing. Also, the complaint should be submitted to office of OSHA in the area. One copy of the complaint should be mailed to main OSHA office in Washington, D.C. All others need to be filed with the EEOC.
If none of the above mentioned government agencies represent the right intake point, filing a claim under the Whistleblower’s protection act with these agencies won’t suffice. Note that the legal rights of the whistleblower are not protected in this case. In some cases, the lawsuit can be filed straightaway with the federal/state court of law if the law under consideration has certain conditions under it.
What you must do to establish a claim under the act?
- You must engage in a conduct that has been provided protection under the False Claims Act.
- You need to establish that the employer under consideration has already been given the notice of the protected conduct. You can also establish that the Whistleblower was providing help to the government investigators.
- You need to demonstrate that the retaliation from the employer was just retaliation for activities protected under the law.
Generally, a case under the False Claims Act does not only include whistleblower claims. It may also include some other legal claims. It depends upon several other state and federal laws and regulations. Remember that all federal whistleblower laws to not allow you to go to the court directly.
