Whistleblower FAQs

Whistleblower laws have a long history dating back to the First Congress in 1789.  They have “provided both a bounty and a cause of action” to encourage individuals to disclose information about unlawful conduct to the government and to further the cause of justice in doing so.  Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States ex rel. Stevens, 529 U.S. 765, 774, 776-777 (2000).

Today, whistleblowers are recognized as the government’s most effective weapon against fraud on the government. This undisputed fact has led the federal and state governments to launch a growing number of whistleblower programs to enlist the help of people with information about violations of law to report what they know and be rewarded for assisting government enforcement actions. These include:

False Claims Act

The False Claims Act is the federal government’s primary tool to fight fraud on the government. It includes a qui tam provision authorizing an individual to file a lawsuit in the name of the government and recover a portion of any successful recovery. More than 30 states have enacted similar laws to combat fraud on state governments.

SEC Whistleblower Program

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act authorized the SEC Whistleblower Program. It created an Office of the Whistleblower at the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to accept tips from individuals who voluntarily offer high quality information about violations of federal securities laws. If the tip leads to an SEC enforcement action in which more than $1 million in sanctions is ordered, it authorizes the SEC to award an eligible whistleblower a monetary award of between 10-30% of the amount recovered.

CFTC Whistleblower Program

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act authorized the CFTC Whistleblower Program. It created an Office of the Whistleblower at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) to accept tips from individuals who voluntarily offer information about violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. If a whistleblower’s information leads to a CFTC enforcement action in which more than $1 million in sanctions is ordered, it authorizes the CFTC to award an eligible whistleblower a monetary award from the CFTC Consumer Protection Fund. The money in the Fund comes entirely from sanctions paid to the CFTC by individuals or entities who violate the Commodity Exchange Act.

IRS Whistleblower Program

The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 established the Office of the Whistleblower at the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), provided a structure for the IRS to consider whistleblower tips regarding violations of the tax laws, and updated the IRS award program for those whistleblowers. To be eligible for an award, the whistleblower’s information must relate to a taxpayer’s noncompliance with the tax laws where the tax, penalties, interest, additions to tax, and additional proceeds in dispute exceed $2,000,000. If the noncompliant taxpayer is an individual, his or her gross income must be more than $200,000 for at least one of the tax years in question.

AML Whistleblower Program

The Anti-Money Laundering Act created a whistleblower reward program at the Department of Treasury to aid in enforcement of the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering laws.  The Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Improvement Act expanded the program to include tips involving evasion of U.S. sanctions. These laws require Treasury to award whistleblowers who voluntarily provide information that leads to successful enforcement actions for money-laundering, bank secrecy or sanctions violations a minimum of 10% of whatever penalty, disgorgement or interest is ordered and collected.

NHTSA Whistleblower Program

The Vehicle Safety Act created a whistleblower program at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  It allows the NHTSA to pay a monetary award to whistleblowers who provide information that leads to the successful resolution of an enforcement action for vehicle safety violations, including defects, noncompliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and violations of the Vehicle Safety Act and to protect the confidentiality of the whistleblower. The law also prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers and assigns enforcement for any violations of this important provision to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

There is no definition of who can be a whistleblower or even what they need to know. An auditor for a hospital may be a whistleblower if they have credible evidence of a fraud on the government because of how the hospital is billing for patient care. A bank teller may not be in a position to be a whistleblower on a healthcare fraud by a hospital. But the teller may have evidence of routine money-laundering at the bank which may form the basis to become a whistleblower using the AML Whistleblower Program. Whether someone can be a whistleblower is going to depend on what they know. It’s why the first step for someone debating whether they may be a whistleblower is to talk to a lawyer. Together you can discuss the unique circumstances presented and reach a decision based on exactly what the potential whistleblower is facing.

Whistleblowers are often reluctant to report what they know because they risk retaliation or blackballing. The government has increasingly acknowledged the risk is real and that it discourages people with credible information about violations of law from coming forward. That’s one reason the government is increasingly receptive to efforts to shield the identity of a whistleblower. Whether a whistleblower can proceed anonymously will depend on which program the whistleblower uses. You can learn more about how each program addresses confidentiality and anonymity here.

The answer is: it depends.  A whistleblower who wants to report a fraud on the government must have an attorney to represent them and file the case in the courts. However, other whistleblower programs that work by providing a tip to the government and do not involve filing cases in the courts have been receptive to accepting information directly from whistleblowers who are not represented by a lawyer.  While it is possible to proceed in some programs without a lawyer, whistleblowers who want to take advantage of some of the safeguards in these programs, including proceeding anonymously, must have a lawyer. You can learn more here about how an experienced whistleblower lawyer can help a whistleblower navigate the intricacies and uncertainties that go along with reporting using one of the whistleblower laws.

The answer is: it depends. Whistleblowers can come forward to expose anything from illegal dumping to fraud. For a whistleblower to receive an award, however, he or she must be proceeding using one of the unique laws that incentivize whistleblowers to provide material information to the government. Even then, whether the whistleblower will receive an award will depend on what information the whistleblower provided and if it led to an enforcement action. The rules for who is eligible to obtain a reward are set forth in each program. You can learn more here about how whistleblower awards work.

Yes! The best way to protect a whistleblower against retaliation is to contact an experienced whistleblower lawyer as soon as possible. The lawyer can help develop a strategy to guard against retaliation before it happens. If retaliation happens (and it may) a variety of federal and state laws exist that the whistleblower may use to get relief, including damages.  What laws apply will depend on what form the retaliation takes and what program the whistleblower is using.  You can learn more here about tools available to a whistleblower who is facing, or may face, retaliation.