What legal protections exist for employee and former employee whistleblowers?

Determining what laws apply, federal, state, and local, requires legal research in a relatively obscure area of the law, well-known to a few lawyers and specialized public interest groups, but virtually unknown to most lawyers and the general public. And, the laws are neither comprehensive, nor do they  cover every person in every situation. In a way, the whistleblower laws are a “crazy quilt” of overlapping laws, with lots of “holes” as well.

There are many laws against employment retaliation designed to protect employee whistleblowers. There are federal, state, and local laws, known as statutes. There are also laws which cannot be found in any federal, state, or municipal law book because they are based upon the “common law.”  Common law whistleblower cases are often termed "wrongful discharge" or "public policy" claims.  These common law claims are developed by judicial rulings over a period of time or are based upon the general “public policy” interest that some states recognize as prohibiting some types of employment retaliation.

While there are many laws protecting employees, there are far fewer laws to protect those who are not employees or former employees. The False Claims Act qui tam provisions are one method by which a non-employee whistleblower may be able to expose wrongdoing in a legal proceeding. Other laws, such as those designed to protect witnesses who assist in official investigations, may protect non-employee whistleblowers who suffer retaliation or retribution because of their cooperation with government investigations or giving testimony in court proceedings.

Click here to view a summary of the federal whistleblower laws and time limits for bringing claims.