Whistleblowers
Whistleblowers
Have you ever found yourself in a moral dilemma at work, wondering what you should do if your employer is engaging in illegal, immoral, or unethical practices? Sadly, most workers think that their only option is to keep their heads down, complete their jobs, and collect another paycheck. The reality is there are laws that protect you in the event that you report on bad behavior. If you do so, you are referred to as a whistleblower, and there are laws in place to ensure your safety at work.
Understanding the Whistleblowers and the Protection in Place
In order to be considered a whistleblower, you must be revealing behavior and practices that are illegal, unethical, or not correct within an organization. If you report a coworker for behaving in a way you do not like that is not illegal (or at least that you reasonably believe to be illegal), you are not protected from personal retaliation from that coworker. In contrast, if you report a coworker for embezzling funds, you are protected. Likewise if you contact the press about something illegal that your company is doing, you can not be retaliated against.
What is Retaliation?
Retaliation refers to any adverse event that was a direct response to your whistleblower disclosure. For example, you cannot be terminated immediately following a whistleblower report. Likewise, you cannot be kept out of key projects, denied promotions, suffer reduced hours, or be victim to a hostile work environment. If you notice that your work environment becomes noticeably worse following a whistleblower report, you are likely the victim of retaliation.
What is Your Recourse?
If you suspect that you are being retaliated against following a whistleblower report, it is unlikely that the poor behavior will stop on its own. You likely have grounds for a legal case, so contact an employment attorney right away. Your attorney will advise you to collect any evidence you may have of the negative behavior as it relates to your report. The goal will be to draw a straight line from the whistleblowing to the bad behavior.
The Benowitz Law Corporation has represented dozens of clients in whistleblower retaliation cases. Retaliation can be a tricky thing to prove, so you want the experienced team at the Benowitz Law Corporation on your side. Do not settle for anyone else. Contact us today to start building your case.