What is a whistle-blower?

Hi, I’m Kraig Martin, and I do employment law here in the firm.

What is a whistle-blower?

A whistle-blower is a person who goes to either the media or to a person in the company wo can do something about it, and complains about a violation of law, or unethical practice, in an effort to make it stop. The whistle-blower then gets a claim if the whistle-blower’s terminated for blowing the whistle.

What should someone do if they want to blow the whistle?

You have to blow the whistle to the right people. Blowing the whistle to a peer is not blowing the whistle, it has to be blowing the whistle to somebody in the position to react to the information you provide. So, knowing who you’re blowing the whistle to, knowing what you’re blowing the whistle about is important too. If you blow the whistle about being treated unfairly, that’s probably not whistle-blowing. It has to be a complaint about a violation of a state or federal statute or constitution, or illegal conduct before it’s really whistle-blowing. Complaining that your boss is mean to you wouldn’t be whistle-blowing. And finally, you want to make sure you’ve made a record of the whistle-blowing because too many cases become he said-she said. So yes, whistle-blowing is important if done right, and probably the best thing to do before you blow the whistle is talk to a lawyer who knows about it.