Tag Archives: whistleblower laws
Wells Fargo Pays $35 Million to Settle Racial Bias Lawsuit
Earlier this year, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $35 million to more than 500 African-American employees to settle a lawsuit that alleged the large bank routinely favored its white employees. In the lawsuit, six black brokers from Wells Fargo alleged the bank regularly showed a nationwide pattern of racial discrimination. They say that black employees […]
Whistleblower Claim Worth $112 Million to Proceed Against Duke and Researchers
A federal judge has ruled that a whistleblower lawsuit filed against Duke University and a pair of researchers can proceed. The lawsuit alleges the university and researchers were able to secure $112 million in federal funding based on fraudulent work. The lawsuit was initially filed under the False Claims Act in 2013. If successful, it […]
Important Questions for Potential Whistleblowers to Consider
Blowing the whistle when you discover wrongdoing within your business or organization could create a great deal of turbulence in both your personal and professional life. Therefore, it’s important to consider all the possible consequences and outcomes before you decide to act. The following are a few questions you should ask yourself before serving as […]
SCOTUS Affirms Right to Blow Your Whistle in Public Sector
If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence. — Louis Brandeis, Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court There has long been tension in the public sector regarding an employee’s duties as […]
A Brief History of the False Claims Act
Worse than traitors in arms are men who pretend loyalty to the flag, feast and fatten on the misfortunes of the nation while patriotic blood is crimsoning the plains of the South and their countrymen are moldering in the dust. — Abraham Lincoln, regarding the False Claims Act The False Claims Act (FCA) is one […]
Supreme Court to Take Up Kellogg Brown & Root Whistleblower Case
It’s impossible to understate the importance of strict adherence to procedure when initiating a qui tam action under the False Claims Act. Unfortunately under our legal system, otherwise meritorious claims can often be defeated merely because the proponent waited too long to act or otherwise failed to follow the rules. One such case recently reached […]
Illinois Municipality Concludes Probe on Hostile Work Environment
Blowing the whistle does not always need to involve fraud and malfeasance. Sometimes a culture of apathy allows a hostile work environment to develop that can only be addressed with outside intervention. Employees and managers who constantly witness pervasive discrimination and harassment in their workplaces often feel compelled to act, even if they are not […]
Public Sector Secrecy Rules Could Violate Federal Whistleblower Laws
Whistleblower laws are intended to discourage corruption by granting legal protection and sometimes even financial incentives to employees who report corruption and other violations. However, these laws can sometimes be at odds with the security requirements of certain sensitive facilities or the proprietary rights of contractors. While these concerns are sometimes understandable, there is a […]
SEC Rulings Remind Whistleblowers of the Importance of Procedure
You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for the bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing. — Thomas Sowell Proper procedures are of the utmost importance for whistleblowers seeking to gain legal protections and financial rewards for their disclosures. The mere fact that you provided information that saved the government millions of […]
Whistleblower Retaliation at the Department of Veterans Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs has been assaulted from all sides in light of recent revelations regarding the quality of care and administration cover-ups. With the alleged misconduct so pervasive, it may seem surprising that no one came forward sooner. As public opinion about the VA and its high-level administrators just keeps getting worse, it […]
