Columbus Whistleblower & Retaliation Lawyer

Whistleblowers play a critical role in exposing government or corporate misconduct. Without them, many of the biggest scandals would never see the light of day, and criminal conduct would go unpunished. At the Oliver Law Office, we have a thriving practice protecting whistleblowers. As you can imagine, employers are rarely happy to see their criminal activity exposed, and they often retaliate against those who blew the whistle. To talk with our Columbus whistleblower & retaliation lawyer, please contact us today.

Protecting Whistleblowers for More Than 20 Years

It takes courage to blow the whistle on illegal activity inside a business or government agency. Many workers realize that there is no going back. Indeed, a company that has violated regulations or laws often never recovers and often needs to shut down or liquidate.

A whistleblower is any employee or former employee who reports to the government illegal activity taking place in an agency, company, or government body. A classic example is a person who has proof that a company has committed environmental violations and calls the federal government. Another classic example involves an employee who blows the whistle on shady accounting practices and reports the violation to a government regulator, like the SEC. Many whistleblowers also expose corruption, such as illegally billing the government for services not provided.

Various federal and state laws protect whistleblowers. For example, the Occupational Safety and Health Act provides for protection for those who blow the whistle on violations of federal environmental laws like the Clean Air Act.

Employment laws also protect whistleblowers who report employment discrimination, or else report harassment based on a protected characteristic. These whistleblower protections apply even if you have not been the subject of harassment or discrimination but simply observed it.

There is no one state or federal whistleblower law but instead a patchwork. Consult an attorney to review whether you are protected. In fact, some people reach out to us before blowing the whistle to better understand the protections available. Under many laws, you must follow certain steps to gain whistleblower protections.

Protection starts almost immediately when you say “no” to performing illegal conduct and then report the activity to the government or internally, like to your supervisor.

We Can Protect You

Whistleblower protections typically include the right to file a lawsuit if retaliated against. Among the remedies we can seek are reinstatement, back pay, front pay, and attorneys’ fees. You might also qualify for other remedies, depending on the case. For example, if you have proof that an organization submitted false claims to the government, you might bring a lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act. If successful, you could receive a portion of the money the government recovers because of the fraud.

To find out more about your rights, contact Oliver Law. Our Columbus whistleblower & retaliation lawyer has decades of experience dealing with these cases. She can advise you of what you need to do to blow the whistle properly, and will file a lawsuit on your behalf if necessary.