ON THE WHISTLE
The U.S. has had laws to protect whistleblowers since 1777. Today we look at a few cases in the government and private sector.
FIRST IN THE NATION
The term “whistleblowing” was not popular until the 1970s, but seven months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress passed the first whistleblower protection law. The first to seek protection were 10 American sailors and Marines who had reported improper behavior by the Continental Navy Commodore Esek Hopkins. Hopkins' brother was the governor of Rhode Island, who lobbied for his appointment to the position. Hopkins‘ men sought protection for speaking out against their commander's treatment of British prisoners, quick temper, misconduct and poor character. The group feared being branded as traitors by their commander and sought protection from Congress.
Hopkins was suspended and relieved of his command in 1778. He lashed out by filing a criminal libel suit in Rhode Island against the 10 petitioners, and two whistleblowers who lived in Rhode Island were arrested and jailed. The two appealed to the Continental Congress, which responded by passing a law to protect the men — and future whistleblowers. False Claims Act During the Civil War, many unscrupulous contractors had defrauded the Union Army by selling it low-quality products such as uniforms that disintegrated in the rain. The government was short of inspectors, so it authorized the public to be whistleblowers. After passage of the act in 1863, a whistleblower was entitled to half of the damages won by the government. Parts of the False Claims Act are still in use, and in 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice obtained nearly $3 billion in settlements and judgments in cases involving fraud.
More recent measures
Two of the most recent federal laws established to protect those who call out perceived corruption are:
• Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989. Enacted to protect federal employees from retaliation who disclose government waste, fraud or abuse of power.
• The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012. It extended protection to federal employees in the intelligence community and others with security clearance.
According to the law firm Hagen Berman, which handles whistleblower cases, the most common types are:
1. Health care fraud
2. Defense contractor fraud
3. Tax fraud
4. Securities fraud
5. Procurement fraud