This patchwork of laws requires that victims of retaliation be alert to the laws at issue, to assure that their reports or complaints are made within the proper deadlines.

Here are some examples of the deadlines that whistleblowers must be aware of before they can seek damages:

• Ten day deadlines apply for Arizona State Employees to file a “Prohibited Personnel Practice” complaint before the Arizona State Personnel Board, and to Ohio public employees to file appeals with the State Personnel Board of Review.
• There is a 30-day deadline for environmental whistleblowers to make a written complaint to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (”OSHA”).
• Federal employees complaining of discrimination, retaliation, or other violations of the civil rights laws have 45 days to make a written complaint to their agency’s equal employment opportunity (”EEO”) officer.
• Airline workers and corporate fraud whistleblowers have 90 days to file their complaints with OSHA.
• Nuclear whistleblowers and truck drivers have 180 days to file complaints with OSHA.
• Victims of retaliation against union organizing and other concerted activities to improve working conditions have 180 days to make complaints to the National Labor Relations Board (”NLRB”).
• Private sector employees have either 180 or 300 days to make complaints to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) (depending on whether their state has a “deferral” agency) for discrimination claims on the basis of race, gender, age, national origin, or religion.
• Those who face retaliation for seeking minimum wages or overtime have either two or three years to file a civil lawsuit, depending on whether the court finds the violation was “willful.”

Federal employees could benefit from the Whistleblower Protection Act, and the No FEAR Act (which made individual agencies directly responsible for the economic sanctions of unlawful retaliation). Federal protections are enhanced in those few cases where the Office of Special Counsel will uphold the whistleblower’s case.

Those who report a false claim against the federal government, and suffer adverse employment actions as a result, may have up to six years (depending on state law) to file a civil suit for remedies under the U.S. False Claims Act (”FCA”). Under a qui tam provision, the “original source” for the report may be entitled to a percentage of what the government recovers from the offenders. However, the “original source” must also be the first to file a federal civil complaint for recovery of the federal funds fraudulently obtained, and must avoid publicizing the claim of fraud until the U.S. Justice Department decides whether to prosecute the claim itself. Such qui tam lawsuits must be filed under seal, using special procedures to keep the claim from becoming public until the federal government makes its decision on direct prosecution.

The Military Whistleblower Protection Act, protects the right of members of the armed services to communicate with any member of Congress (even if copies of the communication are sent to others).

The HOPE Scholarship in Georgia is the only incentive to report corporate, government, or religious crimes. This scholarship provides four years of free tuition to a tech school or University in Georgia for children of whistleblowers or those researching corporate crime.

In response to the Supreme Court decision, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 985, the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2007. President George W. Bush, citing national security concerns, promised to veto the bill should it be enacted into law by Congress. The Senate’s version of the Whistleblower Protection Act (S. 274), which has significant bipartisan support, was approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on June 13, 2007. However, as of mid-2008 it had yet to reach a vote by Senate, as a hold had been placed on the bill by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK).

Legal protection in the U.S. varies according to the subject matter of the report. There are a wide variety of federal and state laws that are intended to protect employees who call attention to violations or refuse to obey unlawful directions. Many of these protections also cover help with enforcement proceedings. State’s jurisdiction often has an effect on legal protections. In passing the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Senate Judiciary Committee found that whistleblower protections were dependent on the “patchwork and vagaries” of varying state statutes. (Congressional Record p. S7412; S. Rep. No. 107-146, 107th Cong., 2d Session 19 (2002).)

Lloyd-LaFollette Act of 1912

The first U.S. law adopted specifically to protect whistleblowers was the Lloyd-LaFollette Act of 1912. Sponsored by Wisconsin Senator Robert LaFollette, the act guaranteed the right of federal employees to furnish information to the United States Congress. The Lloyd-LaFollette Act also protected the right of federal employees to join unions, further protecting them from backlash due to acts of whistleblowing.

Clean Water Act of 1972

There are seven major federal environmental laws that have special provisions protecting employee whistleblowers. The first is the Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act. The goal of the Clean Water Act was to universally reduce water pollution by cutting down on the release of toxic chemicals into ground water. In the interest of decreasing pollution, the law incorporated protections for individuals who report violations of the law, which in effect made it a whistleblower protection act.

Other Environmental Whistleblower Protection Acts

After the passage of the Clean Water Act, additional environmental protection laws were passed which included protection for whistleblowers.

• Safe Drinking Water Act (1974)
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ( Solid Waste Disposal Act) (1976)
• Toxic Substances Control Act (1976)
• Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 & 1978 amended for nuclear reports
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or the Superfund Law) (1980), Clean Air Act (1990)

Each of these laws provides protection for almost any private sector or federal employee. The laws protect any employee who believes him/herself to have been discriminated against in retaliation for whistleblowing, particularly if the whistleblowing involves a safety problem or environmental violation.

OSHA-Enforced Acts Regarding Whistleblowers

In addition to environmentally-related concerns, workers sometimes report employers’ violations in the area of safety. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (”OSHA”) has passed several acts concerning worker safety which include protection for whistleblowers:

• Surface Transportation Assistance Act (1982) to protect truck drivers
• Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (PSIA) of 2002
• Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act (”AIR 21″)
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act, enacted on July 30, 2002 (for corporate fraud reports)