Whistleblower Law Blog

According to an article in Politico, the Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) has yet to be reported to the full Senate and continues to languish in the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs.  Similar to the Whistleblower Protection Act which protects most federal employees who [...]

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On August 13, 2010, The Employment Law Group® filed an amicus curiae brief in Johnson v. Siemens Building Technologies, Inc., on behalf of the Government Accountability Project, National Employment Lawyers Association, and National Whistleblowers Center arguing that Section 929A of the Dodd-Frank Act clarifies and confirms existing law on the scope of coverage under SOX, [...]

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The House of Representatives passed the Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection Act, which prohibits oil and gas companies from terminating or discriminating against offshore employees who report unsafe conditions or refuse to work in unsafe conditions.  Closing a significant loophole, the legislation extends whistleblower protections currently in place for onshore oil and gas [...]

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Recognizing that robust whistleblower protection is critical to preventing another financial crisis, Congress included in the Dodd-Frank financial services reform bill (H.R. 4173) numerous provisions designed to encourage whistleblowing and to provide robust protection from retaliation.  These provisions create monetary awards for whistleblowers who provide original information to the SEC or CFTC, strengthen the whistleblower [...]

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On June 29, 2010, a discussion draft of new federal legislation to increase mine safety was released.  The legislation, introduced by Senators Harkin, Murray, and Rockefeller is intended to “improve compliance with mine and occupational safety and health laws, empower workers to raise safety concerns, prevent future mine and other workplace tragedies, [and] establish rights [...]

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TELG Principals Scott Oswald and Jason Zuckerman published an article in the May 27, 2010 edition of Law360 titled “Whistleblower Protection In The Finance Reform Bill.”  The article discusses the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (S. 3217), which the Senate passed on May 20 by a vote of 59-39.   The bill, which we [...]

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On May 20, 2010, the Senate passed the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (S. 3217) by a vote of 59-39.  The bill, which is the largest overhaul of financial services regulation since the New Deal, contains several new whistleblower protection provisions and strengthens the whistleblower protection provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).   This [...]

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On May 24, 2010, Jason Zuckerman, a Principal at The Employment Law Group® law firm, will speak about the whistleblower protection provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment act of 2009 and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  The event is co-sponsored by the National Treasury Employees Union, Project of Government Oversight, the American [...]

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Principal Jason Zuckerman of The Employment Law Group® law firm is quoted in an article in BNA’s Daily Labor Report titled “Health Care Law Has Whistleblower, Other Employee-Friendly Amendments,” about the whistleblower provisions of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009.  The article was published on April 13, 2010.  The Patient Protection and [...]

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In an article discussing the new whistleblower law contained in section 1558 of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Jason Zuckerman is quoted comparing the new provision to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).  The article, titled “Whistle-Blower Protections Tucked into Health Reform Law,” was published by the Society for Human Resource Management on April 26, [...]

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TELG attorneys Scott Oswald and Jason Zuckerman published an article in the April 8, 2010 edition of Employment Law 360 about the whistleblower provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009, signed by President Obama on March 23, 2009.  The Act includes several whistleblower provisions including a new private right of action [...]

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On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court issued an opinion widening the public disclosure bar to qui tam actions brought under the False Claims Act (FCA), holding that “the reference to ‘administrative’ reports, audits, and investigations” contained in the public disclosure bar of the FCA “encompasses disclosures made in state and local sources as well [...]

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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 3590) that the House approved on March 21, 2010, creates new whistleblower protections for health care workers and strengthens the coverage of the False Claims Act.  The following is a summary of these provisions and the text of the relevant sections is available here. Section [...]

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On December 15, 2009, The Employment Law Group® law firm participated in the launch of Voices for Corporate Responsibility (Voices).  Voices is a project sponsored by Grant & Eisenhofer P.A., Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, and The Employment Law Group® law firm.  Its mission is to help and encourage corporate employees to take a stand against [...]

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Yesterday Congress enacted the Fraud Enforcement Recovery Act of 2009 (S.386) to curb fraud in the financial services industry and strengthen the False Claims Act (FCA), a statute that was originally enacted in 1863 to deter fraud against the government.  Under the qui tam provision of the FCA, a whistleblower can bring a lawsuit on [...]

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Last week, the House passed S.386 (“Fraud Enforcement Recovery Act”) to curb fraud in the financial services industry and to protect taxpayers’ dollars.  While the bill focuses primarily on potential fraud and misuse of economic stimulus funds, it also includes significant changes to the provisions of the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”).  In particular, the [...]

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Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced S.458, the False Claims Act Clarification Act of 2009, which would extend whistleblower protections to employees in the legislative branch who disclose information about reasonably perceived violations of any law, rule, or regulation.  The bill also amends the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by: clarifying the definition of “claim” to include any [...]

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Introduction The economic stimulus bill passed by Congress on February 12, 2009 includes robust whistleblower protections to ensure that employees of private contractors and state and local governments can disclose waste, fraud, gross mismanagement or a violation of law related to stimulus funds.  This article summarizes the key provisions of Senator McCaskill’s (D-Mo.) whistleblower protection [...]

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An editorial in today’s Harrisburg Patriot-News commends the Platts-Van Hollen amendment to the stimulus bill which strengthens federal whistleblower protections for employees who report government fraud, waste and abuse.  The editorial states: One provision that should stay in stimulus bill is that protecting those who report waste, fraud Monday, February 2, 2009  There is much [...]

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On January 28, 2009, the House passed the Platts-Van Hollen amendment to its economic stimulus bill, which will enhance whistleblower protections for federal employees who report on waste, fraud and abuse of federal funds.  The Platts-Van Hollen amendment which is substantially similar to H.R. 985, grants federal employees the right to a jury trial in [...]

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In a recent report titled, “Breaking the Sound Barrier:  Experiences of Air Marshals Confirm Need for Reform at the OSC,” the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) documents the need for a major overhaul of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC).  In addition, the report provides very insightful recommendations for reforming the OSC, including:  Increasing the budget [...]

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In a report titled, “Running the Gauntlet:  The Campaign for Credible Corporate Whistleblower Rights,” the Government Accountability Project (GAP) calls for an overhaul of whistleblower protection laws for corporate and other private sector employees.  The report documents the need to continue to pass sector-by-sector whistleblower laws and suggests strategies for a “treacherous legal landscape” that [...]

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On July 22, 2008, the House unanimously approved H.R. 6493 (Aviation Safety Enhancement Act of 2008), to strengthen airline maintenance oversight procedures conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”).  The new legislation requires the FAA to conduct monthly reviews of the Air Transportation Oversight System and to rotate principal maintenance inspectors among airline oversight offices [...]

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Yesterday Congress enacted a new whistleblower law to protect public and private sector employees in the manufacturing and retail industries who disclose information to an employer, a regulatory agency, or a State Attorney General about a reasonably perceived violation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Act (“CPSCA”) or any act enforced by the Consumer Product [...]

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On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (H.R. 4986), which includes a provision protecting employees of defense contractors who blow the whistle on contracting fraud. Section 846 amends 10 U.S.C. § 2409 to protect employees who disclose to Congress, an Inspector General, the Government [...]

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