What is a “Whistleblower”?
Many of us have heard the term “whistleblower” but are not entirely familiar with its meaning. A Whistleblower Case refers to when an employee exposes illegal or unethical activity at their workplace, either private or public. A whistleblower can bring forth accusations internally within their company or externally by contacting a third party, outside of their place of work. They can reach out to law enforcement, the media or the government regarding the allegations. Whistleblowers are employees who have the courage to report these abuses.
Examples of deceptive practices include “cooking the books,” shareholder fraud, lying on tax returns or the production of potentially dangerous or mislabeled products.
What about possible company retaliation?
A company can’t legally terminate an employee for “blowing the whistle.” Laws exist that disallow specific types of illegal or unethical corporate activities to protect employee whistleblowers. The statute of limitations regarding a whistleblower case differs by state; your attorney can help you determine the best course of action.
As an example, in the mid-2000s, a large pharmaceutical company (AstraZeneca) engaged in a far-reaching effort to market the drug Seroquel. One of the company’s drug salespeople learned of this and became a whistleblower and reported it to the federal government.
In April 2010, the company agreed to $520 million to the U.S. government.
Whistleblowers can be rewarded for their actions
Federal and state whistleblower laws offer very substantial rewards to those brave enough to report abuses. Federal and state statutes and regulations have been enacted to protect whistleblowers from various forms of retaliation.
How We Can Help
If you work for a large company and know of such practices or if your employer terminated you for refusing to participate in what you know is illegal activity, you can confidentially contact the Leader Law Firm for a free case evaluation to discuss your options.
• Call us at (520) 575-9040 to schedule your appointment
• Find us at 405 W. Cool Drive, Suite 107, Tucson, Arizona, 85704
Resource: Whistleblower Protection Program
