Stay Protected When You Blow the Whistle
When an honest employee discovers ethical or legal wrongdoing in the workplace, she is faced with a difficult dilemma. Disclosing the information to a co-worker or supervisor can lead to a correction of the problem, but it can sometimes lead to retaliation. Fortunately, for many employees there are legal whistleblower protections against certain types of retaliation.
For example, if you are a federal government employee, the Whistleblower Protection Act protects you from demotion, harassment, termination and retaliation when making a report of some kinds of employer wrongdoing. If you are a Massachusetts state or municipal employee, or a health care worker, state whistleblower statutes may apply. If you are a non-governmental employee, the Massachusetts common law prohibits your firing for doing what the law requires, refusing to do what the law forbids, or for objecting to a well-established, clearly defined public policy. Certain conditions must apply before you can seek protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act or Massachusetts whistleblower laws.
There are other recent federal laws that provide protections for certain whistleblowers: for example, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. If you want to blow the whistle on your employer, the best person with whom to discuss your concerns is an attorney well-versed in the broad range of evolving whistleblower protections.
Our team of employment lawyers has worked with whistleblowers from a variety of industries, as well as federal, state and municipal employees, to help them preserve their rights when blowing the whistle on employer wrongdoing and afterwards. Contact us today to set up a consultation to discuss your situation.