What Protection Is Provided By The Whistle Blower Protection Act Of 1986?

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The Whistle Blower Protection Act, designed to protect the interests of federal employees that they suspect of wrongdoing in the workplace, was enacted in 1986. Within the act, Congress added an anti-retaliation protection clause as an addendum to the False Claims Act which was already in existence The categorized a whistleblower as a person, usually an employee but not necessarily, of a government agency or private enterprise who takes upon themselves to disclose to the relevant authorities acts of suspected mismanagement, dishonesty, illegality, or chronic inefficiency.

This form of employee protection known as the Whistleblower Protection Law was designed as a form of protection for said employees and disallows them from being expelled, demoted, suspended, or to have to undergo any form of threat or harassment. In legal terms the whistleblower cannot be discriminated against or be subject to any change of status relating to the terms and conditions of his employment as a result of any act carried out legally, even if it is to the possible detriment of their employers or colleagues by way of any legal act carried out by the employee.

The Whistleblower Act is an umbrella of dozens of federal laws protecting whistleblowers or otherwise designed to protect workers from retaliation or other illegal treatment. There are also many similar state and local laws. Most lawyers are not familiar with the employment laws pertaining to whistleblowing and few will know the laws outside the states in which they practice. In recent years, as a result of the proliferation of whistleblowing cases within the US court systems, specialist lawyers began to spring up to handle such cases, and to protect the plaintiffs against any form of harassment.

Congress designed many of these laws so that an individual, who may be able to act either with or without an attorney, in order to register a simple complaint of retaliatory discrimination to a federal government agency. However because of the complexities of filing such a claim and the possibility that generous compensation may be awarded, it is always advisable to consult with an experienced attorney to provide the backup and support required to prove discrimination.

Unlike the False Claims Act, the Whistleblower Federal Law permits the whistleblower to file a lawsuit in a federal court.

Whistleblower or similar anti-retaliation protections providing a private cause of action or administrative remedy are also found in various federal statutes. In addition, The United States Constitution, pursuant to the First and Fourteenth Amendments, protects state and local government whistleblower employees from retaliation.