New York Expands False Claims Act and Strengthens Whistleblower Protections

New York recently amended its False Claims Act (FCA) by expanding the Act’s coverage and strengthening the Act’s whistleblower protections.  The New York FCA now applies to violations of New York tax law when the violator’s income from sales exceeds one million for the year in which the violation took place.  Furthermore, whistleblower protections are now afforded to contractors and agents in addition to employees, and whistleblowers are now protected when they are “harmed or penalized by an employer, or prospective employer” because of “lawful acts done by the employee, contractor, agent, or associated others.”   The amendments explicitly confirm that the keeping of documents evidencing fraud or transmitting those documents to the government or the whistleblower’s attorney is a “lawful act” even when the activity violates a contract or a duty of the employee so long as that activity furthers efforts to stop one or more FCA violations.

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Tagged: New York False Claims Act, Whistleblower Laws (State/Local)