Whistleblowers report government and corporate corruption to law enforcement, protected from prosecution and lawsuits. In the US, whistleblowers register with the Office of Special Counsel and are protected by the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. 18 legal acts cover a range of illegal activities, enforced by the Federal Office of Whistleblower Protection Program. The European Union is modernizing whistleblower protections.
An informant is someone who reports government and corporate corruption or illegal behavior to law enforcement while being protected from prosecution and possible lawsuits later. To become a whistleblower in the US, the US Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has a secure online website where whistleblowers are required to register and state the facts of their case. In the United States, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPA) of 2007 was an expansion of the original act to include national security issues and those relating to government contractors and scientific agencies. It also expanded the original protections for a whistleblower working as a federal employee.
When considering reporting corporate fraud or government fraud, a whistleblower in the United States should also take the time to review the 18 legal acts governed by whistleblower or retaliation statutes. These acts cover a wide range of potentially illegal activities, some of which are the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Clayton Act which governs antitrust law, and the Toxic Substances Control Act. Together, the acts are meant to address all , from environmental pollution to workplace discrimination, from corporate corruption to safety and health violations.
The administration of whistleblower protection in the United States is done through the Federal Office of Whistleblower Protection Program (OWPP), which is administered by the Department of Labor (DOL) through its Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) branch ). These safety and security provisions for whistleblowers are also often affected by state law. OSHA, however, is responsible for ensuring that 21 statutes governing whistleblower retaliatory reports on everything from employment relationships to national transit systems are taken seriously. Reporting fraud should begin with filing a complaint with your local OSHA office immediately, as the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) allows only 30 days to report discrimination once it occurs.
In the European Union, research into member country whistleblower protection began in 2009. Ten European countries were chosen to carry out a comprehensive review of existing laws, so that an approach could be implemented to improve whistleblower protection on a large scale of European Union. The countries chosen for the survey were Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Ireland, as well as Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia. The findings of the study have been combined with legislative practices in other member countries and the modernization of whistleblower protections is ongoing.
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