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Recent Blog Posts
Social Pressure Dampens the Success of Ghana’s Whistleblower Law
A farmer in Ghana admits that for years he concealed the corruption of a local public officer who works in his region of Ghana. The farmer is aware of the 2006 Ghana Whistleblower Act and knows that every Ghanaian has a civic duty to report illegal activity and corruption. However, he insists that the benefit […]
Two Employees Blow the Whistle on Warner Chilcott
Two former Warner Chilcott sales representatives, Lisa Alexander and James Goan, have blown the whistle with a bundle of allegations, including illegal marketing tricks, kickbacks and privacy violations. Federal laws and regulations restrict the way pharmaceutical companies market, sell and distribute their products, and the plaintiffs claim that Warner Chilcott simply trampled over them. Scope […]
Whistleblowers Are Taking Their Case to the U.S. Supreme Court
Jackie Lawson and Jonathan Zang believe that the 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals misinterpreted the law. They appealed the court’s decision in Lawson v. FMR LLC and filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s whistleblower provision was misread, resulting in the conclusion that the anti-retaliation protections do not reach […]
Texas Whistleblower Act Has Jurisdiction
A state employee sent an email to a superior declaring that if a particular contract were not honored, then the entire department would not be complying with federal regulation. After being fired, the employee sued under the Texas Whistleblower Act (TWA) and attached a copy of the email. The Texas Supreme Court dismissed the complaint […]
Whistleblowers Blow their Whistles While They Work
It takes two to speak the truth: one to speak, and another to hear. -Henry David Thoreau The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Pilgrim Pride Corp. reached a $50,000 settlement in a 2012 whistleblower case. The case began when a manager for water reclamation at Pilgrim Pride’s processing plant […]
2012: What a Year to Blow Your Whistle
Despite reports of a federal government crackdown on leaks and whistleblowers, a review of the amount of whistleblower settlements in 2012 will blow your mind. Across all business disciplines and governmental agencies, whistleblowing led to major settlements. Whistleblowing settlements across America Spanning the spectrum of American businesses, whistleblowers were awarded significant sums of money in […]
Life After Whistleblowing
When corporate executives, government employees, or simple truck drivers decide to report regulatory violations or illegal activity, they assume serious risks of loss of livelihood, alienation of friends and even physical safety. The significant financial award given to whistleblowers helps to soften the blow of a likely job loss. However, what rewards are there to […]
Whistleblowers Remain Unwelcome at the White House
I never gave anybody hell! I just told the truth and they thought it was hell. -Harry S. Truman In April 2013, Jonathan Landay, a reporter for McClatchy, the third-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, published a report that the Obama administration assassinated hundreds of lower-level Afghan and Pakistani militants in drone strikes. The […]
War on Whistleblowers Elicits International Attention
A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth. –Aesop Daniel Ellsburg, Karen Silkwood, and W. Mark Felt are usually glorified as brave whistleblowers who risked everything for the truth. In 2002, Time Magazine’s person of the year was The Whistleblowers — Colleen Rowley, Sherron Watkins and Cynthia Cooper. The June 24, […]
Blowing the Whistle and Nobody Hears
When a person assumes the role of a whistleblower to stop the illegal and fraudulent activity of a corporation or governmental agency, it is understood that there may be harsh retaliatory acts taken by the violating organization. One reaction that the whistleblower does not expect is the deafening silence that many hear when they report […]
