WHISTLEBLOWER PAYDAYS INCREASE: $104,000,000.00 AND COUNTING!

This information update is sponsored by the national general practice law firm of Charles Jerome Ware, P.A., Attorneys and Counsellors: "Still working.  Still committed.  Still here to make a difference."

"Whistleblowing" --- i.e., the disclosure by a person, usually an employee in a government agency or private enterprise, to the public or to those in authority, of mismanagement, corruption, illegality, or some other wrongdoing --- is the new big money-maker for some employees.

Since the 1960s, the public value of whistle-blowing has been increasingly recognized. For example, federal and state statutes and regulations have been enacted to protect whistleblowers from various forms of retaliation. Even without a statute, numerous decisions encourage and protect whistleblowing on grounds of public policy. In addition, the federal False Claims Act (31 U.S.C.A. § 3729) will reward a whistleblower who brings a lawsuit against a company that makes a false claim or commits Fraud against the government.

Persons who act as whistleblowers are often the subject of retaliation by their employers. Typically the employer will discharge the whistleblower, who is often an at-will employee. An at-will employee is a person without a specific term of employment. The employee may quit at any time and the employer has the right to fire the employee without having to cite a reason. However, courts and legislatures have created exceptions for whistleblowers who are at-will employees.

Whistleblowing statutes protect from discharge or discrimination an employee who has initiated an investigation of an employer's activities or who has otherwise cooperated with a regulatory agency in carrying out an inquiry or the enforcement of regulations. Federal whistle-blower legislation includes a statute protecting all government employees, 5 U.S.C.A. §§ 2302(b)(8), 2302(b)(9). In the federal civil service, the government is prohibited from taking, or threatening to take, any personnel action against an employee because the employee disclosed information that he or she reasonably believed showed a violation of law, gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public safety or health. In order to prevail on a claim, a federal employee must show that a protected disclosure was made, that the accused official knew of the disclosure, that retaliation resulted, and that there was a genuine connection between the retaliation and the employee's action.

Former UBS Bankers Gets $104,000,000.00 From the IRS For Whistleblowing

After serving two and a half years in federal prison, former UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland) banker and whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld has now received an award of $104,000,000.00 from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). 

The award comes because of Birkenfeld's insider information to IRS revealing how thousands of rich Americans were hiding their money in Swiss banks (such as UBS) to avoid U.S. taxes.

Former Glaxo Smith Kline Quality Assurance Manager Files U.S. False Claims Act Case And Is Awarded At Least $96,000,000.00 For Whistleblowing
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Cheryl Eckard was terminated from her job as a Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) Quality Assurance Manager in 2003 allegedly for "redundancy" related to the merger of GSK and SmithKline Beechan PLC.  In reality, though, Ms. Eckard was terminated for complaining to her supervisors about her concerns over serious deficiencies in a GSK manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico.  In July 2012, Ms. Eckard was rewarded with $96 million for her whistleblowing activities.

[legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/"Whistleblowing"; "Do Good and Get Rich: Financial Incentives for Whistleblowing and the False Claims Act", by Elletta Sangrey Callahan and Terry Morehead, Villanova Law Review 37 (1992); Whistleblowing: A Federal Employee's Guide to Charges, Procedures, and Penalties, Federal Employees News Digest/ Reston, Virginia (2000); False Claims Act: Whistleblower Litigation, by James B. Helmer, Lexis/Nexis, 3rd ed. (2002); "The Year of the Whistle-Blowers", by James Kelly, Time (December 30, 2002); articles.nydailynews.com/ 2012-09-12/news/bradley-birkenfeld; www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-16/ "Whistleblower Wins $118 Million in Bank Accord"; abcnews.go.com/Business/biggest-whistleblower-rewards/story; online.wsj.com/article/ October 28, 2010/ "Whistleblower's Long Journey"]