One of the things that may prevent a person from coming forward as a whistleblower is the fear of potential retaliation. Not only is this activity illegal, but it can also give people a cause of action to pursue a private remedy in a United States District Court.
An experienced whistleblower attorney could help to protect your legal rights if you have experienced retaliation after serving as a whistleblower or cooperating with a government investigation. This includes providing more information about the laws that prohibit retaliation as well as taking the lead in lawsuits that demand appropriate remedies.
A collection of federal statutes exist that empower regulatory agencies to enforce federal financial laws. For example, 31 United States Code § 3729 is the False Claims Act which prohibits any person or company from knowingly filing a fraudulent claim for payment from any government entity.
At the same time, each of these statutes prohibits retaliation against any person who serves as a whistleblower or who cooperates in an investigation. This retaliation can take on many forms. In most instances, they include some form of punishment for employees who report their bosses. This can involve:
Each of these practices is illegal and can lead to a separate government investigation. A lawyer in South Carolina can provide more information about retaliation as a concept and work to connect actions by bosses to retaliation for serving as a whistleblower.
The various statutes that prohibit retaliation all change depending upon under which regulatory agency’s jurisdiction a person comes forward as a whistleblower. However, each of these examples shares one thing in common.
Any person who endures retaliation in South Carolina because of their service as a whistleblower or cooperator with the government has the right to sue their retaliators in a United States District Court. In these lawsuits, affected people must be able to prove that their time on the job suffered because of their participation in these investigations and that their employer’s actions came about because of their status as a whistleblower. For example, a lawsuit may allege that an employer terminated a worker because they learned that this employer was planning on blowing the whistle on illegal activity.
These lawsuits can demand a collection of remedies. The most common remedy is the receipt of back pay due to losing one’s job. However, parties may also demand reinstatement at a prior position. This can be more applicable when retaliation takes the form of demotion or a transfer. In these cases, it is also common practice to demand a remedy in the form of court costs and attorney’s fees. A lawyer in South Carolina could help to decide which remedies for whistleblower retaliation are appropriate for each person’s particular situation.
The various federal laws that allow whistleblowers to come forward also prohibit retaliation against those individuals. If you have found that your experience in the workplace has suffered because of your blowing the whistle or participating in a government investigation, you have the right to seek a remedy in court.
These remedies can include the receipt of back pay, reinstatement on the job, and attorney’s fees. A lawyer in South Carolina can help to determine if you have experienced retaliation, and if so, take the lead in demanding appropriate compensation. Call us for a private consultation.
