Category Archives: Employee Rights
Judge Will Allow Dow Whistleblower to File Wrongful Termination Suit
A federal judge is allowing an ex-fraud investigator for Dow Chemical Co. to pursue a wrongful termination claim. Kimberly Wood, who had worked for 25 years at Dow before the company fired her in October, alleges that the company was engaged in significant financial misconduct, specifically major spending by the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Andrew […]
When Do Reports Not Constitute Whistleblower Actions?
Not all reports of internal wrongdoing are technically considered whistleblower actions. In 2013, the First Circuit Court established an important “job duties” exception related to the Maine Whistleblowers Protection Act. The exception states that employee’s reports are not considered whistleblowing if making such internal reports of wrongdoing is part of the employee’s job. Since the […]
Bank of America Whistleblower Wins $57 Million Decision
In what is being considered a record, landmark case, a former bank executive at Countrywide Financial (now owned by Bank of America Corporation) was awarded $57 million for exposing the presence of fraud in the company’s mortgage practices. Edward O’Donnell initially filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Countrywide, accusing the company of defrauding mortgage finance […]
Whistleblower Awarded $175 Million in Trinity Industries Lawsuit
A federal jury determined that Trinity Industries, a Texas-based guardrail manufacturer, must pay $175 million in penalties after a whistleblower alerted authorities to False Claims Act violations by the company. Trinity manufactures many of the guardrails that you see as you drive on highways and roads across the nation. Josh Harman, the whistleblower in the […]
Former St. Petersburg VA Attorney Files Whistleblower Suit
Javier Soto was at one point a Ratings Benefits Services Representative for the St. Petersburg region office of the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, after he released a report that spoke to the “poor, inept and inaccurate” process of quality control for benefits claims at the VA, he was released from his duties. Now, […]
Study Shows Companies Face Larger Penalties When Whistleblowers Involved
A recently published study indicates that companies face much larger monetary penalties whenever a whistleblower is involved in enforcement actions against the company. In an average case, those companies paid penalties that were 63 percent higher with whistleblowers than in cases where there was no whistleblower. Data for the study came from information from the […]
Senators Present New Whistleblower Law for Auto Industry
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla) recently presented a new piece of legislation that will protect the rights of whistleblowers within the auto industry, and offer them the potential to be paid millions of dollars in rewards for particular types of cases. The new bill would give the secretary of transportation the […]
Whistleblower Takes Next Step in Lawsuit Against Philadelphia School District
Four years ago, Francis X. Dougherty was fired after revealing the existence of a $7.5 million no-bid security camera contract within the Philadelphia School District. Now, he has won a major victory in his whistleblower lawsuit against the district, with the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that he was exercising his first amendment […]
NLRB Reverses Precedent in Case Involving Employer Email
In a landmark ruling, the National Labor Relations Board determined that workers have the right to use their company email for non-business purposes. These purposes could include communicating about union events and organization. This ruling was a direct contradiction and reversal to the NLRB’s 2007 Register Guard ruling and even referenced that ruling, calling it […]
SEC Reports Amount of Whistleblower Tips, Awards Rose in 2014
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released its annual report on its new whistleblower program, and according to that report, whistleblower tips and awards through the agency are on the rise. This year saw more than 3,500 tips from whistleblowers, the largest number the agency has received since beginning its whistleblower program three […]
