Whistleblowers are American heroes. They put all aspects of their life on the line to report fraud, criminal activity, or threats to the environment and public safety.
Whistleblowers must do what they can to protect their families, their jobs, and even their physical well-being. Before you pick up the phone, here are five things you need to know.
1. Understand your rights first
The Georgia Whistleblower Statute offers protections for citizens trying to do the right thing. Know what actions you can take and the levels of protection that you can expect before you begin.
2. Consider remaining anonymous
Staying anonymous, or becoming a confidential whistleblower, may offer you and your family protection. If no one knows who the whistleblower is, retaliation becomes impossible.
3. Don’t break the law
Some employees have lost their cases when they illegally disclosed confidential information during their whistleblower case. In some instances, there were criminal charges as well.
4. You don’t need to be a U.S. citizen
The most effective whistleblower laws have no citizenship requirements for reporters. Many citizens from foreign countries expose fraud or bribery in the United States.
5. You can win
Whistleblowers are an important source of information for investigators, and the most successful prosecutions point back to concerned citizens who stood up to corruption. Taxpayers have recovered billions upon billions in fines for Medicare and Medicaid frauds, illegal banking, fraud in government contracting and other crimes thanks to whistleblower exposure.
Standing up to fraud and corruption, sometimes at the expense of yourself and your family, is a heroic action. America depends on citizens who do the right thing to make the country better.