Would You Rat On Your Boss? Whistleblower Laws and Protections

Over three quarters of the American workforce would blow the whistle on dishonest and fraudulent behavior provided they could do so anonymously, did not have to fear reprisal and would also be more likely to act as a whistleblower if there was a financial reward offered... this was according to a recently revealed survey carried out by Labaton Sucharow, a business and securities law firm,

The survey was intended to find out just how much workers knew about the whistleblower program which was introduced by President Obama in 2010, as part of the Dodd-Frank reform act which followed in the wake of the financial disaster of 2008, which almost bought America to its knees.

Some of the findings which raised eyebrows were the fact that 34 percent of the people surveyed said that they were aware of wrongdoings in their workplace; In addition 68 percent said that they knew nothing about the current federal whistleblowing program which is operated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Whilst it is obviously of concern that wrongdoings in the workplace are so widespread, it also shows that there is a real need for the whistleblower program.

Frequently reported alleged wrongdoings

The SEC has said that the new whistleblower legislation that came into place on August 12, 2011, resulted in 334 complaints leading up to the end of September. The most common reportings included cases of insider trading, bribery and kickbacks, market manipulation, as well as cases involving financial and corporate disclosures.

So just who is a whistleblower?

According to the Dodd-Frank Act, a whistleblower is any individual who provides the SEC with information pertaining to the violation of any government security statutes. The misdoing may have taken place, may be already happening or may be about to happen. As long as the whistleblower has some solid evidence for their allegations then whistle blower protections will prevent their employer from carrying out any of the following forms of retaliation: termination, suspension, demotion, harassment, and threatening behavior of any sort. These provisions apply to all whistleblowers regardless of whether they are correct in their allegations and whether or not they receive an award.

Rewarding a whistleblower for their actions

Under the guise of 'qui tam' laws, anybody is at liberty to file a lawsuit on behalf of the government and if they are successful in doing so, then they are entitled to receive a percentage of the monies recovered as a reward. There are certain criteria before a lawsuit can be filed and one of them is that the amount of the fraud should be in excess of $1 million. In the case of a successful case, the whistleblower would be likely to receive between 10-30% of the total amount of money recovered, which in anyone's book is a lot of money. Also, and this part has proved quite controversial, the whistleblower is allowed to bypass the normal channels of complaint within their workplace and go straight to the SEC with their allegation.

How do I know if I have a case?

By far the easiest way to know if you have a case is to consult a team of experienced qui tam attorneys. They will listen to what you have to say and will have a pretty good idea of whether there is a case to answer. They will be sympathetic and compassionate towards you and everything you tell them will be treated as confidential information.

Any attorney worth his salt will operate on a contingency basis, i.e. ' win, no fee', and will offer a free consultation at the outset where they will openly answer any questions you have and listen to your concerns. It is essential that you seek the services of an attorney who has a proven track record in the area that you have uncovered fraudulent activity. Since he will know exactly what path to take and will leave no stone unturned in his efforts to win the case and procure the maximum settlement figure, since the higher the settlement figure, the larger payout both you and he will receive. Being a whistleblower takes guts and determination but can be generously rewarded.