Federal, state laws protect whistleblowers
January 1, 2012 2 minutes read
Federal, state laws protect whistleblowers
Many states offer protection to whistleblowers, and a federal statute protect whistleblowers reporting false claims, explains Amy S. Leopard, JD, partner with the law firm of Walter & Haverfield in Cleveland, OH. If the court finds that the employer terminated the employee because of the whistleblowing, the employer will be required to reinstate the employee and provide double back pay for the period in question.
Gag orders written into settlement agreements also will be difficult or impossible to enforce when the employee is trying to report wrongdoing to the government, she says. "All the government has to do is get wind of the false claim, and they will subpoena the person who knows about it," Leopard says. "You can't enforce any type of confidentiality agreement if the employee or former employee is subpoenaed for a government interview."
Employees' concerns about impropriety are not always well founded, of course. The employee might be mistaken about the facts or the law, Leopard says, but the provider still should take the employee seriously. It can be a costly mistake to casually dismiss the employee's concerns or even indicate annoyance that the employee is trying to stir up trouble over nothing, she cautions. That response can prompt the employee to feel righteous indignation and investigate the matter independently, then take the concerns to outside regulators.
"You always are best advised to listen to any complaint seriously and express that this is exactly what you want people to do if they are concerned something might be wrong," she says. "If you determine that, in fact, there is no problem, then you can explain that to the person without making them feel like you're blowing them off."
Source
Amy S. Leopard, JD, Partner, Walter & Haverfield, Cleveland, OH. Telephone: (216) 928-2889. E-mail: [email protected].
Many states offer protection to whistleblowers, and a federal statute protect whistleblowers reporting false claims, explains Amy S. Leopard, JD, partner with the law firm of Walter & Haverfield in Cleveland, OH. If the court finds that the employer terminated the employee because of the whistleblowing, the employer will be required to reinstate the employee and provide double back pay for the period in question.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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