New rights for "whistleblowers" 10-02-00
- By Ann F. Kiernan

Massachusetts has joined at least 15 other states and the federal government in enacting a statute protecting employees who "blow the whistle" on their employers' illegal activities.

The new Massachusetts law applies to anyone with direct and independent knowledge of fraud on the state. This includes not only state workers, but also employees of firms that contract with the state, such as construction companies, health care providers, software and hardware vendors, and consultants. If the state recovers money as a result of a worker's report of fraud, the worker gets a bounty: 15 to 30 percent of the recovered money!

Under the new law, a company cannot demote, suspend, threaten, harass, deny promotion to, or otherwise discriminate against the employee who reported the information to the government. If it does, the worker is entitled to reinstatement with seniority, double back pay--with interest--emotional distress damages, and attorneys' fees and litigation costs.

Around the country, some states say that a whsitleblower doesn't have to go to a government agency -- raising an internal complaint of wrongdoing is enough--while other states and the federal government require the worker to make an official report to the government. In New Hampshire and New Jersey, the worker doesn't have to cite a particular law, regulation or ordinance being violated in order to claim whistleblower protection. States that have whistleblower protection laws include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

For more on ethical employment issues, see our Ethics FAQ.

Information here is correct at the time it is posted. Case decisions cited here may be reversed. Please do not rely on this information without consulting an attorney first.