Whistleblower Protection

Whistleblower protection is vital for: safeguarding public interest; promoting accountability and integrity in public and private institutions; and encouraging reporting of misconduct, fraud and corruption. This report analyses whistleblower protection standards in the public and private sectors.

First introduced in the United States, whistleblower laws have become increasingly popular around the world. This book illustrates the regional efforts undertaken by European organizations to promote whistleblower protection in Europe. To provide context, the first part of the book presents an overview of the international best practices for whistleblowing legislation and explores the status of whistleblower under international law. It also assesses the global hot topics regarding whistleblowing, from the cases of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange to the silencing of whistleblowers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following parts focus on the European approach to whistleblower laws. It illustrates the influence of the Council of Europe in putting whistleblower protection on the European agenda and discusses the European Court of Human Rights’ case law on whistleblowing under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the final part, the author analyzes the evolution of the European Union’s approach to whistleblowing and the legal significance of the EU Whistleblower Directive adopted in 2019. In the respective parts, the author also examines the effectiveness of the international organizations’ own internal rules on whistleblowing, from the United Nations and the World Bank Group to the Council of Europe and the European Union.

An updated edition of the first-ever consumer guide to whistleblowing by the nation’s leading whistleblower attorney The newest edition of The Whistleblower’s Handbook brings the most comprehensive and authoritative guide to exposing workplace wrongdoing up-to-date with new information on wildlife whistleblowing, auto safety whistleblowing, national security whistleblowing, and ocean pollution whistleblowing. It also includes a new “Toolkit” for international whistleblowers. This essential guide explains nearly all federal and state laws regarding whistleblowing, and in the step-by-step bulk of the book, presents more than twenty must-follow rules for whistleblowers—from finding the best federal and state laws to the dangers of blindly trusting internal corporate “hotlines” to obtaining the proof you need to win the case.

Whistleblowing is "the act of reporting waste, fraud, abuse and corruption in a lawful manner to those who can correct the wrongdoing." Safeguarding confidentiality to the maximum extent possible is essential for encouraging whistleblowers to report wrongdoing without fear of reprisal. This book discusses the practices and programs that protect whistleblowers.

In the wake of the Enron implosion and the subsequent revelations of numerous cases of corporate misconduct, sweeping legislation was enacted to reform the system of corporate financial oversight and to ensure protection for employees and investors. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush on July 20, 2002, is a landmark in policymaking, business law, and social activism. Whisteblower Law is the first book to explain and analyze the impact and implications of this legislation, especially as it pertains to the rights of whistleblowers—those who dare to come forward with evidence of wrongdoing. Written by the leading experts in the field and drawing on their extensive experience in advising law-makers, arguing cases, and training professionals, Whisteblower Law will become the standard reference for lawyers, judges, and mediators; corporate executives and managers; employees of publicly traded companies; labor leaders and human resource advocates; and potential whistleblower alike. The authors point out that the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley and related reforms in law and policy will have a profound effect on the corporate and legal communities. For example, the law mandates for the first time that all publicly traded companies establish formal whistleblowing programs and that corporate attorneys must divulge information that would implicate their clients in criminal acts, effectively becoming whistleblowers themselves.

Workers who "blow the whistle" on prohibited practices play a role in enforcing federal laws, but these workers risk reprisals from their employers. The Whistleblower Protection Program at the Occupational Safety and Health Admin. (OSHA) is responsible for investigating whistleblowers' complaints. OSHA's decisions generally may be appealed to the Office of Administrative Law Judges and, ultimately, the Administrative Review Board. This report examined: (1) what is known about processing times for complaints and what affects these times; (2) what outcomes resulted; and (3) what challenges OSHA faces in administering the program. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables.

This monograph is an outcome of research completed within the Visegrad Grant “Workplace Whistleblower Protection in the V4 Countries, France and Slovenia” – WhistlePro (2020–2021), financed from the International Visegrad Fund. The project aims to contribute to the improvement of the legal framework in the Visegrad countries concerning the protection of workplace whistleblowers and, indirectly, to the change of workers’ attitudes towards whistleblowing. Contributions prepared by legal experts from various countries and universities concern matters of universal importance such as freedom of expression relative to whistleblowing, personal scope of the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive (2019/1937) or personal data protection. They also discuss the legal situation concerning whistleblower protection in the Visegrad countries, France and Slovenia and present recommendations for changes in the respective countries. The monograph culminates with a summary of proposals for the improvement of the legal situation of persons disclosing breaches of law in the work-related context. Given its topicality and in-depth analysis of legal problems related to adequate whistleblower protection, the book may be of interest to academics, practitioners, social partners, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and policy makers in the process of the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive transposition in Member States. Dagmara Skupień

Discusses how federal employees who have sought whistleblower reprisal protection from the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) viewed OSC's handling of their cases. Based on a survey of 945 employees. Tables.