As an employee you assume, or at least hope, that your employer runs an honest and law abiding company.
What happens though if you discover that your employer is violating the law? Worse yet, what if your employer is actually committing fraud against the government and/or potentially harming the public as a result of those violations? One recourse is to become a “whistleblower”.
A whistleblower is someone who reports an employer for breaking the law.
To protect whistleblowers from retaliatory conduct on the part of the employer for speaking out the U.S. federal government has passed a number of “whistleblower protection” laws that protect employees who choose to speak out. If you are currently working for a company that you believe is committing fraud, endangering the public, or otherwise engaging in conduct covered under a whistleblower law you may be wondering what kind of evidence a whistleblower must have before reporting the conduct.
Because of the unique nature of whistleblower cases it is always best to consult with an experienced Florida employment law attorney before doing anything; however, it may help to have a general idea of what kind of evidence is typically used or needed in order to qualify for whistleblower protection.
Whistleblower statutes usually fall into one of three very broad categories:
- Violations that cause a financial loss to the government
- Violations that cause a financial loss to investors
- Violations that cause potential harm to the public or to employees
Because many whistleblower cases involve financial losses caused by fraud, financial records are often used as evidence. These records may be computerized or paper records; however, they must be original, meaning they are not publically available and have not been submitted before to the government. Ask yourself “Is this evidence publically available?” and “Has the government already seen this evidence?” when considering if the evidence you have is relevant and eligible for a whistleblower claim.
Along with financial records, inter-office communications or memorandums are also frequently used as evidence in a whistleblower claim. Evidence needs to be specific and answer important questions such as:
- Who is committing the fraud/violation?
- What is the violation?
- When did the violation take place?
- Is the conduct ongoing?
- Who knew/knows about the fraud/violations?
- How is the fraud occurring?
- In what way is the public being harmed or potentially being harmed?
If \you believe you qualify to file a whistleblower claim but are concerned about the evidence you have collected to date regarding the claim, contact the experienced Florida employment law attorneys at Richard Celler Legal, P.A. by calling 954-716-8601 to discuss the situation and to decide how best to proceed.
To learn more, please download our free Whistleblower Basics in Florida here.