January 29, 2012
Should You Inform On Your Superior If They Are Doing Something Illegal Or Should You Keep Quiet?
"Whistle Blowing" is when an employee or worker tells on a company who is breaking the law. Staff who blow the whistle on their companies are guarded by law. If they are fired or otherwise retaliated against for whistle blowing, they can sue.
What's Whistle Blowing?
To actually "Whistle Blow", the employee must tell of the illegal act to somebody outside the company. It must be an administration or law enforcement agency.
If the employee just complains to someone inside the company, that is not whistle blowing, and the worker is not guarded by the whistleblower laws. However , the employee might be protected under other laws. For instance, it is illegal to launch somebody for complaining of sexual persecution or discrimination.
Does the Employer Need to Have Broken the Law?
It's not required the employer actually broke the law. The employee could be whistle blowing on something that is not a crime in the 1st place. The employee is still shielded from retaliation or termination.
However , the worker must believe that he or she is reporting a contravention of the law, and the employee's belief must be reasonable.
How is the Employee Protected?
If the employee has reported the purportedly criminal activity to a state or law enforcement agency, she or he is protected. The employer cannot retaliate against the employee. The employer can't fire the employee for the whistle blowing. The employer can't mistreat the employee for whistle blowing.
This does not mean that after whistle blowing, the worker can't be fired for any basis. The employer can continue to treat the employee like any other worker. But the employer can't treat the employee differently because of the whistle blowing.
Clearly, if the worker whistleblows on Monday and is fired on Tues., it suggests that the worker was retaliated against for making the report.
Do you know what's whistle blowing? Learn the importance of whistle blowing thru read an article of Frenzeiah Barnes about the stand of a Qui Tam lawyer in such matter.
Filed under Legal Staffing by Geena