Looking For Info About The Whistle Blower Act?The Whistle Blower Act defines the conditions under which a report can be filed against an individual or company who are suspected in fraud involving government money. According to the Whistle Blower Act, it's against the law to against state employees who blow the whistle. The problem here is that it will be difficult in court to prove the actual motivation of the crime. Who Can File? The whistleblower act defines that anyone applying for work or working for a state agency who has been retaliated against for disclosing protected information may file a complaint. There is also a timeframe so the complaint must be filed no later than 60 days after the prohibited personnel action (e.g., termination of employment). Blowing The Whistle Whistlebowers have to call, write or visit the according Comission within 60 days of the date in which the alleged act of discrimination occurred and describe the situation. At that point, a government representative will decide if a case can be made out of your information, which you must back up by some documented evidence. What's important is that you can proof the fraud, and not just base it on informationn on the newspapers, TV, radio, Internet, or any other publicly available media. Whistle Blower Protection Protection is provided to whistleblowers by Federal acts and related statutes that shield employees from retaliation for reporting illegal acts of employers. According to the law, in case an employer retaliates in anyway, whistle blower protection might entitle the employee to file a charge with a government agency, sue the employer, or both. Here is the exact definition given in the Whistle Blower Act: "A public employer shall not take adverse action against a public employee because the public employee or a person authorized to act on behalf of the employee communicates in good faith the existence of waste of public funds, property, or manpower." The Reward Some new incentives were added in the Whistle Blower act in the form of money in attempt to stimulate such people and also compensate them for their troubles. The new IRS whistleblower system includes some serious increases in the amount of the reward ranging from 5 to 20 percent of the total amount to be returned to the government as a result of the damage. According to the Whistle Blower Act, the whistle-blower, who under the act receives a portion of the fine if claims are proven in court, must show that a company intended that the false statement is "material" -- or central -- to the government's decision to pay or approve the false claim. Just recently, back in 1989 that the Qui Tam Whistleblower Law was made more interesting and supportive of whistleblowers. Laws have to be updated every year so that the government can be in touch with the latest fraud methods and have the proper protection. Different types of protections are available to whistleblowers in order to maintain their rights. Brevard Whistle Blower has received such a powerful response that a major advertising campaign is scheduled for next month and March to bring its message to bigger audience. |