Whistleblower Lawyer

If you are currently an employee or someone who is connected to a company that you believe is breaching human and equality rights, then you can report your concern. If the information provided below is true for what you are going through, then you may be protected under whistleblower law. What this means is that you should not be treated adversely, fairly, or get fired because you reported wrongdoing. As a whistleblower, you can report certain types of offenses, which is usually something you have seen at work, but may not always be the case. You can be someone who is connected to a business in some other way, but most often whistleblowers are employees.

The wrongdoing that you report must be for the best interest of the public. Which means, what you are observing must negatively affect public interest. This will depend on the nature of the wrongdoing, the impact the wrongdoing causes, how many people are affected, and who the offender is. Generally, this means that your concern must have an impact that is much farther reaching than just one person’s personal circumstances. It is important to realize as a whistleblower, you are protected by law. So you should not be treated adversely or lose your employment because you blew the whistle.

You may be protected under whistleblower law if you are an employee, an agency worker, a trainee, or a member of a limited liability partnership. Whistleblowers are encouraged to get advice from a legal team if they are not sure that their situation warrants whistleblowing or they are concerned that they won’t be protected.  Deciding whether to disclose an offense is a serious choice that each person has to make on their own. If you aren’t sure whether to come forward or not out of fear, rest assured knowing that there is a growing number of laws that continue to protect whistleblowers, as they are an essential aspect of ensuring that businesses and individuals are operating in the best interests of the public.

As a whistleblower lawyer from Eric Siegel Law explains, your whistleblowing may be protected by law if you report offenses that involve someone’s health and safety being at risk, a criminal offense, a miscarriage of justice, actual or risk of damage to the environment, a company is breaking the law, or you believe someone is trying to cover up a wrongdoing. Personal grievances are not covered under whistleblower law, unless your particular case affects the public interest as well. 

If you are wondering who you can talk to during this time, you can report your concerns to your employer. They may have a policy for whistleblowing that outlines what to expect if you report a concern to them directly. You can still report a concern if they do not have a whistleblowing policy. However, understandably, many people are worried that their employer may retaliate against them and find a way to make their work days harder or outright fire them. These are valid concerns, as someone who wants to do the right thing should not be punished for doing so.