The Laws That Protect You

• False Claims Act: protects any employee, contractor or agent who acts to stop a false claim or who files or assists a qui tam case. Remedies are reinstatement, double back pay with interest, special damages and attorney fees. Three years to file, in federal court, no agency filing required.
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act: protects employees of public companies, their subsidiaries and contractors who report securities fraud, shareholder fraud or violations of SEC rules. A complaint must be filed with the Department of Labor within 180 days. Remedies include reinstatement, back pay with interest and special damages.
• Dodd-Frank Act: protects whistleblowers who reported to the SEC. Six years to file in federal court, with double back pay. Under the Supreme Court’s decision in Digital Realty, reporting only inside the company does not qualify, which is why the order of reporting matters.
• Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act: protects employees who report criminal antitrust violations. Department of Labor complaint within 180 days.
• Taxpayer First Act: protects employees who report tax underpayment or fraud to the IRS or internally. Department of Labor complaint within 180 days.
• State laws: New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act, one of the broadest in the country; New York Labor Law Section 740, expanded in 2022 to cover reports of any violation of law; Maryland’s false claims acts and Health Care Worker Whistleblower Protection Act; the District of Columbia’s False Claims Act and Whistleblower Protection Act; and Pennsylvania’s Whistleblower Law for public employees and employees of publicly funded employers.

What Counts as Retaliation?

Firing is the obvious case, but the law also reaches demotion, pay cuts, loss of bonus, reassignment to worse work, exclusion from meetings and projects, a sudden negative review, a performance plan, threats, harassment, blacklisting, and a constructive discharge where the employer makes the job intolerable. The question is whether the employer took the action because of the protected activity, and timing, shifting explanations and treatment of others who did not report are the usual proof.

What To Do Now

• Write down the dates: when you reported, to whom, and each adverse action that followed.
• Keep your own copies of your performance reviews, your offer letter and your employer’s policies. Do not take confidential company documents; ask us first.
• Do not sign a severance agreement or a release without having it reviewed. Many releases try to waive retaliation claims and bar you from collecting a whistleblower reward, and some of those waivers are unenforceable.
• Do not resign before you talk to a lawyer. A resignation can forfeit claims that a termination preserves.
• Act quickly. Several of these laws require a Department of Labor filing within 180 days.

What Our Firm Does

• Identify every law that protects you and the deadline under each.
• File the Department of Labor complaint or the court case, or both, in the right order.
• Pursue reinstatement, back pay, damages and fees.
• Negotiate your exit if that is the better outcome, without giving up a whistleblower reward.
• Coordinate the retaliation claim with any pending whistleblower submission so that one does not harm the other.

Before You Report

• Do not confront the people involved or announce what you intend to do.
• Do not use a work computer, work phone or work email to contact a lawyer.
• Do not take documents you do not already have a right to see. Ask us first what you may keep.
• Write down what you know: who, what, when and how you know it.
• Do not wait. The first person to report is in the strongest position, and a later report with the same information may receive nothing.

Frequently Asked Questions

I only reported internally. Am I protected?

It depends on the law. The False Claims Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, the Taxpayer First Act and most state laws protect internal reports. Dodd-Frank does not; you must have reported to the SEC. If you have not yet been retaliated against, the order in which you report can be planned to protect you.

I was wrong about the fraud. Am I still protected?

Generally yes, if you reasonably believed what you reported was a violation. You do not have to prove the underlying fraud to win a retaliation claim.

My employer offered severance if I sign a release. Should I?

Not before it is reviewed. A release can waive your retaliation claims and purport to bar you from receiving a whistleblower award. Some of those terms are unenforceable, and the SEC has penalized companies for using them, but you should know what you are signing.

How much is a retaliation case worth?

Back pay from the date of the adverse action, often doubled, plus front pay or reinstatement, damages for the harm to your reputation and career, and attorney fees. The value depends on your pay, how long you were out of work and what the employer did.

What does it cost?

The first conversation is free and confidential. If we take your matter, the fee terms are put in writing before any work begins.

Talk to Us Before You Report

Email msiddons@siddonslaw.com from a personal account with a general description of what you know. Do not send documents. We will reply and tell you what to do next. Attorney Michael A. Siddons represents whistleblowers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Washington, D.C.