Whistleblower

The text describes a whistleblower as an individual who exposes any kind of information or activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within an organization that is either private or public to management or another official (Moran, 2008). They will review how whistleblowing is protected by law and how it affects individuals. The case study seeks to look at the case of Luke Sheldon and determine what law if any, supports his position.
Whistleblowing is simply the act of reporting wrong doings. Those actions or alleged wrongdoing can be classified in several ways ranging from violation of company policy/rules, law, regulation, or threat to public interest/national security, fraud, and corruption. OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program enforces the whistleblower provisions of more than twenty whistleblower statutes protecting employees who report violations. Section 11(c) of the OSH Act prohibits employers from discriminating against their employees for exercising their rights under the OSH Act (US Department of Labor). The rights include filing an OSHA complaint, participating in an inspection or talking to an inspector, reporting an injury, and raising a safety or health complaint with the employer. The Whistleblower Protection Act (“WPA”) of 1989 was designed as a method to safeguard workers who report these major violations of the law. The Act prevents them from being discharged or otherwise retaliated against by their employers. If workers have been retaliated or discriminated against for exercising their rights, they must file a complaint with OSHA within 30 days of the alleged adverse action.
In the case study, Mr. Sheldon is working on a job where he has been asked to dump toxic waste into the river. He is considering becoming a whistleblower. The Whistleblower Protection Act gives Mr. Sheldon protected rights to make his complaints. The False Claims Act of 1863, as revised in 1986, protects whistle-blowers against retaliation and encourages whistle-blowers by providing relators (whistle-blowers) with a percentage of the funds recovered from those who defrauded the federal or state government. Since the laws are all following the pattern, this law only serves as a helping factor in the case. The false claims act provide the whistleblower with a percentage of the amount of the product achieved. In 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is a law put in place to ensure enforcement of employees. Employees and other individuals are encouraged to disclose information about a company that they reasonably believe is in violation of the federal securities laws or U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules and regulations. Whistleblowers are protected from retaliation and are entitled to return to their job and receive attorney fees and court cost.
The company itself could be in trouble if the complaint is filed. The company could lose financial support or customers, they could be forced to pay fines or closed down. Those are a few of the major consequences. The company could suffer other things like being known for a certain negative behavior or missing out on new orders. United States of America v. Emmanuel Chukwudi Ekwuruke is one case study that displays various consequences that many go along with stealing such as jail time.
The Human Resource director in this case should tell Mr. Sheldon in depth more about his situation. He should revisit the fact of what rights he has available, what he needs to satisfy himself physically and morally and how he is protected by the Whistleblower Act.

References
Moran, J. M. (2008). Employment Law: New Challenges in the Business Environment (6th ed.)
Reverse Discrimination. (2014). Retrieved from: http://employment.findlaw.com/employment-discrimination/reverse-discrimination.html#sthash.5HWsSRAI.dpuf