In the past month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) awarded $1.9 million to a whistleblower who resigned his position after a negative performance review, and a jury awarded $20 million to another whistleblower who was allegedly terminated after making internal reports of fraud. These massive financial awards are consistent with a larger trend. Recently, employers are facing a greater risk of liability for whistleblower retaliation than at any time in history. One development fueling this change is that courts and some government agencies have drastically expanded what it means to be a “whistleblower” whose conduct is protected. Given these recent developments, employers must double down on compliance initiatives. A critical component to any effective compliance program is the need to train employees on whistleblowing and retaliation.

Whistleblowing claims are on the rise, and the courts and judiciary are making it more difficult for employers to prevail when facing a claim. Generally speaking, in order to prevail on a claim for whistleblower retaliation, an employee must prove that he or she engaged in protected conduct by making a good-faith report of suspected misconduct and that he or she suffered an adverse employment action as a result of engaging in such protected activity. Although this seems like a relatively straightforward standard, recent court and agency decisions have added another layer of challenge for employers by drastically expanding the definitions of both “protected activity” and also “adverse employment action.”

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]