Whistleblower Law Blog
U.S. Tax Court Decision Spells Big Win for IRS Whistleblowers
September 29, 2016
The IRS whistleblower program provides essential incentives to people with evidence of tax fraud to file a report with the IRS. The program allows a person to collect up to 30 percent of the amount the IRS recovers as a result of the tip she provides to the IRS, when the amount involved is over $2 million and subject to certain...
DOE Heavily Criticized in New Nuclear Whistleblower Program Audit
September 27, 2016
The Department of Energy (“DOE”) touts the importance of safety in the nuclear industry – and with good reason. The impact of a catastrophic failure at a nuclear plant can last for years and affect people who live far from a reactor. Even smaller-scale safety deficiencies can seriously harm hundreds of workers. Despite its...
OSHA Announces Pilot Program to Expedite Whistleblower Claims
September 22, 2016
When whistleblowers file a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a complainant often has to wait months, or even years, to see a full resolution of his or her claims. Often, delays are a result of the volume of complaints filed – OSHA received over 3,000 whistleblower complaints...
OSHA Whistleblower Investigation Manual Changes Could Benefit Employees
September 13, 2016
The 2016 update to the Whistleblower Investigations Manual used by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) could prove to be a much-needed boon to employees across the country. As many readers of this blog know, OSHA is responsible for enforcing provisions in over 20 separate federal statutes that provide...
STAA Protections Help Trucker Fired for Leaving Dangerous Conditions
September 8, 2016
On August 8, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided TransAm Trucking Inc. v. Administrative Review Board, Department of Labor. The Court ruled 2-1 in favor of the whistleblower – a truck driver for TransAm Trucking named Alphonse Maddin – with Judge Michael Murphy writing for the majority and Judge Neil Gorsuch dissenting....
What Federal Whistleblowers Need to Know about the Insider Threat Program
August 30, 2016
Whistleblowers serve a critical function in our society. They are inside watchdogs who expose wrongdoing at their place of employment, most times at great personal risk to their jobs. Acknowledging the important, yet risky, role that whistleblowers play in policing the workforce, the law has historically afforded whistleblowers...
Want to Win Your Whistleblower Claim? Learn How to Legally Gather Evidence
August 23, 2016
When employees want to report on suspected law breaking or misconduct, gathering evidence to become a whistleblower brings with it many legal pitfalls. Some forms of evidence gathering are not only allowed but are considered protected activity for an employee – that is, an employer cannot take any negative employment action (...
Farming Industry Uses Ag-Gag Laws to Silence Whistleblowers
August 18, 2016
Factory farms produce the vast majority of meat, dairy and eggs we consume in the United States. Large food producers use breeding strategies and economies of scale to produce food at low cost and high profits.
To maximize profits and fill the enormous demand for cheap food, large agricultural companies have resorted to cruel...
SOX Whistleblower Case Strengthens Protections for Workers
August 16, 2016
In March 2016, the Department of Labor Administrative Review Board (ARB) established an important precedent on the broad scope of protected whistleblowing under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and also clarified its standards to better serve SOX whistleblowers who faced retaliation.
As has been discussed in the legal press, the...
FRSA Whistleblower Wins $1.6M Jury Award
August 8, 2016
In May 2016, a jury trial resulted in a $1.6 million verdict for a Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA) whistleblower. Under the FRSA, whistleblowers need only show that their protected activity was a contributing factor to the termination decision. The whistleblower’s burden under the FRSA is lower than in many other...
