Whistleblower

whis·tle-blow·er

A person who informs on another or makes public disclosure of corruption or wrongdoing.

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A whistleblower is a person who raises a concern about wrongdoing occurring in an organization or body of people. Usually this person would be from that same organization.

The revealed misconduct may be classified in many ways; for example, a violation of a law, rule, regulation and/or a direct
threat to public interest, such as fraud, health/safety violations,
and corruption.

Whistleblowers may make their allegations internally (for example,
to other people within the accused organization) or externally (to regulators, law enforcement agencies, to the media or to groups concerned with the issues).

Whistleblowers frequently face reprisal, sometimes at the hands of the organization or group which they have accused, sometimes from related organizations, and sometimes under law.

Origins of term

The term whistleblower derives from the practice of English police officers, who would blow their whistles when they noticed the commission of a crime. The whistle would alert other law enforcement officers and the general public of danger.[1]

Most whistleblowers are internal whistleblowers, who report misconduct on a fellow employee or superior within their company.

One of the most interesting questions with respect to internal whistleblowers is why and under what circumstances people will
either act on the spot to stop illegal and otherwise unacceptable behavior or report it.[2]

There is some reason to believe that people are more likely to take action with respect to unacceptable behavior, within an organization, if there are complaint systems that offer not just options dictated by the planning and control organization, but a choice of options for individuals, including an option that offers near absolute confidentiality.[3]

External whistleblowers, however, report misconduct on outside persons or entities.

In these cases, depending on the information's severity and nature, whistleblowers may report the misconduct to lawyers, the media, law enforcement or watchdog agencies, or other local, state, or federal agencies. In some cases, external whistleblowing is encouraged by offering monetary reward.[4]

Under most U.S. federal whistleblower statutes, in order to be considered a whistleblower, the federal employee must have
reason to believe his or her employer has violated some law,
rule or regulation; testify or commence a legal proceeding on
the legally protected matter; or refuse to violate the law.

In cases where whistleblowing on a specified topic is protected by statute, U.S. courts have generally held that such whistleblowers
are protected from retaliation.[5]

However, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court decision, Garcetti
v. Ceballos (2006) held that the First Amendment free speech guarantees for government employees do not protect disclosures made within the scope of the employees' duties.

Common reactions

Ideas about whistleblowing vary widely. Whistleblowers are commonly seen as selfless martyrs for public interest and organizational accountability; others view them as 'tattle tales' or 'snitches', solely pursuing personal glory and fame.

Some academics (such as Thomas Alured Faunce) feel that whistleblowers should at least be entitled to a rebuttable
presumption that they are attempting to apply ethical principles
in the face of obstacles and that whistleblowing would be more respected in governance systems if it had a firmer academic basis invirtue ethics.[6][7]

It is probable that many people do not even consider blowing the whistle, not only because of fear of retaliation, but also because
of fear of losing their relationships at work and outside work.[8]

Because the majority of cases are very low-profile and receive little or no media attention and because whistleblowers who do report significant misconduct are usually put in some form of danger or persecution, the idea of seeking fame and glory may be less commonly believed.

Persecution of whistleblowers has become a serious issue in many parts of the world.

Although whistleblowers are often protected under law from employer retaliation, there have been many cases where punishment for whistleblowing has occurred, such as termination, suspension, demotion, wage garnishment, and/or harsh mistreatment by other employees.

For example, in the United States, most whistleblower protection laws provide for limited "make whole" remedies or damages for employment losses if whistleblower retaliation is proven.

However, many whistleblowers report there exists a widespread "shoot the messenger" mentality by corporations or government agencies accused of misconduct and in some cases whistleblowers have been subjected to criminal prosecution in reprisal for reporting wrongdoing.

As a reaction to this many private organizations have formed whistleblower legal defense funds or support groups to assist whistleblowers; one such example in the UK is Public Concern
at Work.

Depending on the circumstances, it is not uncommon for whistleblowers to be ostracized by their co-workers, discriminated against by future potential employers, or even fired from their organization.

This campaign directed at whistleblowers with the goal of eliminating them from the organization is referred to as mobbing. It is an extreme form of workplace bullying wherein the group is set against the targeted individual.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower



A whistleblower can be defined as a person who reveals any wrongdoings or malpractices that are taking place within an organization.

These revelations could be made either to the general public or to those who are in a position of authority. A whistleblower can make a disclosure of corruption, mismanagement, illegal activities or any other wrongdoing.

For a while now the public recognition and value for whistle blowing has been on a marked rise. This is giving more and more people the strength and courage to come forward and blow the whistle exposing illegal activities that could otherwise have gone unnoticed.

There are Federal as well as State regulations and statutes that have been put in place in order to protect whistleblowers from any kind of retaliation that they might have to face.

It is an unavoidable fact that persons who step up as whistleblowers are often the faced with retaliation from their employers.

In a typical case the employer will fire the whistleblower, who is quite often an employee who is termed as an at-will employee. Such an employee is a person who does not have a specific term of employment.

The at-will employee has the liberty to quit at any given time but at the same time a flip side is that the employer also has the right to fire him without having to give any reason.

Now however, there is no need to worry as the legislatures and courts have created exceptions for those whistleblowers who are in fact at-will employees.

Whistleblowers are now protected by statutes and can thus combat any discrimination that an employee might show him in the face of the accusations.

Today if you are faced with any irregularities or illegal activities in your organization know that you have the power to do the right thing and be the whistleblower.

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