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Poster in support of whistleblower legislation
Poster in support of whistleblower legislation

A whistleblower is an employee, former employee, or member of an organization, especially a business or government agency, who reports misconduct to people or entities that have the power and presumed willingness to take corrective action. Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A business (also called firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to A government agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the Machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions The misconduct may be a violation of a law, rule, regulation and/or a direct threat to public interest, such as fraud, health/safety violations, and corruption. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society The public interest refers to the "common well-being" or "general welfare In the broadest sense a fraud is a Deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain One famous whistleblower is Jeffrey Wigand, who exposed the Big Tobacco scandal, revealing that executives of the companies knew that cigarettes were addictive and approved the addition of carcinogenic ingredients to the cigarettes. Dr Jeffrey S Wigand (ˈwaɪgænd (born December 17 1942) is a former Vice President of Research and Development at Brown & Williamson Big Tobacco is a Pejorative term often applied to the tobacco industry in general or more particularly to the "big three" Tobacco corporations A scandal is a widely Publicized incident that involves Allegations of wrongdoing, disgrace or moral outrage A cigarette ( French "small Cigar " from cigar + -ette) is a product consumed through Smoking and manufactured The term carcinogen refers to any substance Radionuclide or radiation that is an agent directly involved in the promotion of Cancer or in the fatation of its propagation Wigand's story was the basis for the 1999 movie The Insider. The Insider is a 1999 film that tells the true story of a 60 Minutes Television series exposé of the Tobacco industry Dr. Frederic Whitehurst exposed irregularities at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's FBI Crime Lab. Biography Dr Frederic Whitehurst joined the FBI in 1982 and served as a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI crime lab from 1986-98 A crime laboratory - often shortened to crime lab - is a scientific laboratory using primarily Forensic science for the purpose of examining evidence from criminal In Europe, Paul van Buitenen exposed irregularities in the European Commission. Paul van Buitenen (born 28 May, 1957 in Breda) is a Member of the European Parliament for the Netherlands and a European The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union.

Contents

Overview

Origins of term "whistleblower"

The term whistleblower derives from the practice of English bobbies, who would blow their whistles when they noticed the commission of a crime. Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales (administration of Police matters The whistle would alert both law enforcement officers and the general public of danger. [1]

Definition of a whistleblower

Most whistleblowers are internal whistleblowers, who report misconduct to a fellow employee or superior within their company. External whistleblowers, however, report misconduct to outside persons or entities. In these cases, depending on the information's severity and nature, whistleblowers may report the misconduct to lawyers, the media, law enforcement or watchdog agencies, or other local, state, or federal agencies. A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person "Popular press" redirects here note that the University of Wisconsin Press publishes under the imprint "The Popular Press" Law enforcement agency ( LEA) is a term used to describe either an organisation that enforces the laws of one or more governing bodies or an organisation that actively and directly Consumer protection is a form of Government Regulation which protects the interests of Consumers For example a government may require businesses to disclose detailed

Under most U. S. federal whistleblower statutes, in order to be considered a whistleblower, the federal employee must have reason to believe his or her employer has violated some law, rule or regulation; testify or commence a legal proceeding on the legally protected matter; or refuse to violate the law. If disclosure is specifically prohibited by law or executive order, disclosure may be considered treason. executive order in the United States is a Directive issued by the President, the head of the executive branch of the federal government In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. However, no whistleblowers have been tried for treason in the United States, and it is not officially treasonous to report illegal conduct by government officials there.

Some try to limit the impact of whistleblowing by arguing that "role-prescribed" whistleblowers (e. g. quality control personnel or internal auditors) are not whistleblowers in the traditional sense because they are employed in order to blow whistles. The most general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person organization system process project or product However, U. S. courts have uniformily held that such whistleblowers are protected from retaliation.

Many U. S. federal courts do not distinguish between internal and external whistleblowing. For example, in the field of federal environmental whistleblowing, federal courts have protected only internal whistleblowing as a matter of public policy, holding that whistleblower statutes encourage the free flow of information, and that internal whistleblowing helps resolve problems as soon as possible.

Common reactions to whistleblowing

Ideas about whistleblowing vary widely. Whistleblowers are commonly seen as selfless martyrs for public interest and organizational accountability; others view them as 'dobbers' or "snitches" (slang), solely pursuing personal glory and fame. The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom Accountability is a concept in Ethics with several meanings It is often used synonymously with such concepts as answerability enforcement responsibility, blameworthiness Because the majority of cases are very low-profile and receive little or no media attention and because whistleblowers who do report significant misconduct are usually put in some form of danger or persecution, the latter view is generally less held.

Persecution of whistleblowers has become a serious issue in many parts of the world. Although whistleblowers are often protected under law from employer retaliation, there have been many cases where punishment for whistleblowing has occurred, such as termination, suspension, demotion, wage garnishment, and/or harsh mistreatment by other employees. Termination of employment is the end of an Employee 's duration with an Employer. Suspension is a form of Punishment that people receive for violating rules and regulations A demotion is a reduction in rank or Position in an organizational Hierarchy system A garnishment is a means of collecting a monetary Judgment against a Defendant by ordering a third party (the garnishee) to pay money otherwise owed to Abuse refers to the use or treatment of something (a person item substance concept or vocabulary that is harmful For example, in the United States, most whistleblower protection laws provide for limited "make whole" remedies or damages for employment losses if whistleblower retaliation is proven. However, many whistleblowers report there exists a wide-spread "shoot the messenger" mentality by corporations or government agencies accused of misconduct and in some cases whistleblowers have been subjected to criminal prosecution in reprisal for reporting wrongdoing. " Shooting the messenger " is a Metaphoric phrase used to describe the act of lashing out at the (blameless bearer of bad news

As a reaction to this many private organizations have formed whistleblower legal defense funds or support groups to assist whistleblowers; one such example in the UK is Public Concern at Work. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Depending on the circumstances, it is not uncommon for whistleblowers to be ostracized by their co-workers, discriminated against by future potential employers, or even fired from their organization. This campaign directed at whistleblowers with the goal of eliminating them from the organization is referred to as mobbing. Mobbing is a term referring to a type of animal behaviour A newer use refers to a group behavioural phenomenon in workplaces It is an extreme form of workplace bullying wherein the group is set against the targeted individual. Workplace bullying, like Childhood Bullying, is the tendency of individuals or groups to use persistent aggressive or unreasonable behavior against a co-worker

Legal protection for whistleblowers

Legal protection for whistleblowing varies from country to country. In the United Kingdom, the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 provides a framework of legal protection for individuals who disclose information so as to expose malpractice and matters of similar concern. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The UK 's Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 provides a framework of legal protection for individuals who disclose information so as to expose malpractice and matters of similar In the vernacular, it protects whistleblowers from victimisation and dismissal.

In the United States, legal protections vary according to the subject matter of the whistleblowing, and sometimes the state in which the case arises. In passing the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Senate Judiciary Committee found that whistleblower protections were dependent on the "patchwork and vagaries" of varying state statutes. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ( also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 and commonly called SOX or Sarbox (Congressional Record p. S7412; S. Rep. No. 107-146, 107th Cong. , 2d Session 19 (2002). ) Still, a wide variety of federal and state laws protect employees who call attention to violations, help with enforcement proceedings, or refuse to obey unlawful directions.

The first U. S. law adopted specifically to protect whistleblowers was the Lloyd-La Follette Act of 1912. The Lloyd-La Follette Act in 1912 began the process of protecting Civil servants in the United States from unwarranted or abusive removal by codifying "just cause" It guaranteed the right of federal employees to furnish information to the United States Congress. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses The first U. S. environmental law to include an employee protection was the Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, also called the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act is the primary Federal law in the United States governing Water pollution. The Clean Water Act is the primary Federal law in the United States governing Water pollution. Similar protections were included in subsequent federal environmental laws including the Safe Drinking Water Act (1974), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (also called the Solid Waste Disposal Act) (1976), Toxic Substances Control Act (1976), Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (through 1978 amendment to protect nuclear whistleblowers), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or the Superfund Law) (1980), and the Clean Air Act (1990). The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA is the principal federal law in the United States that ensures safe Drinking water for the public The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA enacted in 1976, is a Federal law of the United States contained in 42 U The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA enacted in 1976, is a Federal law of the United States contained in 42 U The Toxic Substances Control Act ( TSCA) is a United States law passed by the United States Congress in 1976, that regulates the introduction The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 ( is a United States federal law that established the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Superfund is the common name for the United States environmental policy officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act The 1990 Clean Air Act is a piece of United States environmental policy relating to the reduction of Smog and Air pollution. Similar employee protections enforced through OSHA are included in the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (1982) to protect truck drivers, the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (PSIA) of 2002, the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century ("AIR 21"), and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, enacted on July 30, 2002 (for corporate fraud whistleblowers). The Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 was a comprehensive transportation funding and policy act The Wendell H Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century is a United States federal law seeking to improve Airline safety

The patchwork of laws means that victims of retaliation need to be alert to the laws at issue to determine the deadlines and means for making proper complaints. Some deadlines are as short as 10 days (for Arizona State Employees to file a "Prohibited Personnel Practice" Complaint before the Arizona State Personnel Board; and Ohio public employees to file appeals with the State Personnel Board of Review). It is 30 days for environmental whistleblowers to make a written complaint to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA]. The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. Federal employees complaining of discrimination, retaliation or other violations of the civil rights laws have 45 days to make a written complaint to their agency's equal employment opportunity (EEO) officer. Airline workers and corporate fraud whistleblowers have 90 days to make their complaint to OSHA. Nuclear whistleblowers and truck drivers have 180 days to make complaints to OSHA. Victims of retaliation against union organizing and other concerted activities to improve working conditions have 180 days to make complaints to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The National Labor Relations Board (or NLRB) is an Independent agency of the United States Government charged with conducting Private sector employees have either 180 or 300 days to make complaints to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (depending on whether their state has a "deferral" agency) for discrimination claims on the basis of race, gender, age, national origin or religion (but here an example of retaliation can be seen, as these anti-discrimination agencies change their areas of discrimination to suit their needs. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC is a federal agency charged with ending employment discrimination An area of discrimination in California was if a complaining party had a civil servant relative. The state Department of Fair Employment and Housing quickly called an end to this practice. The state's RALPH Act has also proven to be non-functional. ) Those who face retaliation for seeking minimum wages or overtime have either two or three years to file a civil lawsuit, depending on whether the court finds the violation was "willful. "

Those who report a false claim against the federal government, and suffer adverse employment actions as a result, may have up to six years (depending on state law) to file a civil suit for remedies under the U. S. False Claims Act (FCA). The False Claims Act ( also called the " Lincoln Law " is an American Federal law which allows people who are not affiliated with the government to file 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h). Under a qui tam provision, the "original source" for the report may be entitled to a percentage of what the government recovers from the offenders. In Common law, a writ of qui tam is a Writ whereby a private individual who assists a Prosecution can receive all or part of any penalty imposed However, the "original source" must also be the first to file a federal civil complaint for recovery of the federal funds fraudulently obtained, and must avoid publicizing the claim of fraud until the U.S. Justice Department decides whether to prosecute the claim itself. For animal rights group see Justice Department (JD The United States Department of Justice ( DOJ) is a Cabinet department Such qui tam lawsuits must be filed under seal, using special procedures to keep the claim from becoming public until the federal government makes its decision on direct prosecution.

Federal employees could benefit from the Whistleblower Protection Act (5 U.S.C. § 1221(e)), and the No FEAR Act (which made individual agencies directly responsible for the economic sanctions of unlawful retaliation). The Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that seeks to discourage federal managers and supervisors Federal protections are enhanced in those few cases were the Office of Special Counsel will uphold the whistleblower's case. The United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC is a permanent independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency whose basic legislative authority comes from three federal statutes

The Military Whistleblower Protection Act (10 U.S.C. § 1034), protects the right of members of the armed services to communicate with any member of Congress (even if copies of the communication are sent to others).

The HOPE Scholarship in Georgia is the only incentive to report corporate, government, or religious crimes. The HOPE Scholarship, created in 1993 by the state of Georgia legislature is a university Scholarship program that has been adopted by several other states This scholarship provides four years of free tuition to a tech school or University in Georgia for children of whistleblowers or those researching corporate crime. In Criminology, corporate crime refers to crimes committed either by a Corporation (i

Whistleblower Protection Act of 2007

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to government whistleblowers when, in the case of Garcetti v. Ceballos, 04-473, it ruled that government employees did not have protection from retaliation by their employers under the First Amendment of the Constitution. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Garcetti v Ceballos, 547 US 410 ( 2006) is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States involving the First Amendment See also Bureaucrat The term civil service has two distinct meanings Branch of governmental service in which individuals are hired on the basis [2]

The free speech protections of the First Amendment have long been used to shield whistleblowers from retaliation by whistleblower attorneys. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without Censorship or Limitation. In response to the Supreme Court decision, the House of Representatives passed H. The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. R. 985, the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2007. The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 is a United States federal law that protects federal Whistleblowers, or persons who work for the government who report agency misconduct President George W. Bush, citing national security concerns, promised to veto the bill should it be enacted into law by Congress. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. National security is the entire scope of measures undertaken by the Governments of Nation-states in providing assurance of national Sovereignty A veto, Latin for "I forbid" is used to Denote that a certain party has the right to stop unilaterally a certain piece of Legislation. The Senate's version of the Whistleblower Protection Act (S. 274), which has significant bipartisan support, was approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on June 13, 2007. The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has jurisdiction over matters related to the Department of Homeland Security and other homeland However, it has yet to reach a vote by Senate as a hold has been placed on the bill by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK). Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, MD (born March 14 1948 is an American Politician and medical doctor. [3] According to the National Whistleblower Center, Coburn's hold on S. The National Whistleblower Center (NWC is a nonprofit nonpartisan tax exempt educational and advocacy organization based in Washington D 274 has been done to further President Bush's agenda. [4]

Famous whistleblowers

Main article: List of whistleblowers

Whistleblower Week in Washington (WWW)

The week of May 13-19 2007, whistleblowers from all over the country gathered in Washington, D. Stanley Adams, a former Hoffmann-LaRoche executive who discovered evidence of Price fixing in 1973. C. , to convince the United States Congress to pass stronger whistleblower protections for both government and private sector workers. Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, founder of the No FEAR Coalition and No FEAR Institute, served as Chair of the first ever Whistleblower Week in Washington. The event was coordinated around the fifth anniversary of the May 15, 2002 enactment of the "Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002," which is now known as the No FEAR Act. One purpose of the Act is to "require that Federal agencies be accountable for violations of antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws. " Public Law 107-174. The law came to fruition after Dr. Coleman-Adebayo provided congressional testimony about American companies exposing African miners and their families to vanadium, a deadly substance. During WWW dozens of nonprofit organizations, whistleblower groups and individual whistleblowers participated in a broad range of activities that included discussion panels, testimony, award ceremonies, a film night and book signing, and workshops in advocacy, stress management, whistleblower law, and mentoring. Doctors from the "Semmelweis Society International" played a leading role in organizing the event, along with the Civil rights whistleblower advocates, the No FEAR Institute. Prominent organizations included the Government Accountability Project (GAP), The National Whistleblower Center, The VA Whistleblower Coalition, The National Whistleblower Security Coalition, the ACLU, Public Citizen, the Liberty Coalition, and The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). The National Whistleblower Center (NWC is a nonprofit nonpartisan tax exempt educational and advocacy organization based in Washington D Betsy Combier represented the E-Accountability Foundation. Linda Lesbo, chair of Whistleblowers USA, played a special role and noted that "too many very brave whistleblowers were present to adequately honor their accomplishments and their contributions to the conference. " Senator Charles Grassley saluted the group, and called on the White House to hold a rose garden ceremony to honor whistleblowers. The group plans to make this an annual event, and asks all whistleblowers from all over the country to contact WWW now at the http://www.w3conference.org/

Also see

Resources

External links

Notes

  1. ^ Winters v. Houston Chronicle Pub. Co. , 795 S. W. 2d 723, 727 (Tex. 1990) (Doggett, J. , concurring).
  2. ^ High Court Trims Whistleblower Rights
  3. ^ Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007 - Congresspedia
  4. ^ Take Action Now

Dictionary

whistleblower

-noun

  1. Alternative form of whistle-blower.
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