Whistleblower Law Blog
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds $3.2M Whistleblower Award Based on Both Economic and Noneconomic Damages
April 2, 2018
Pennsylvania whistleblowers received a major win on Tuesday, March 28, 2018, when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision affirming a $3.2 million verdict in favor of Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (“PTC”) whistleblower, Ralph Bailets. The decision was notable for two reasons: (1) it confirmed that...
Bank of America Lawsuit Shows Why Whistleblower Practitioners Should Think Beyond Federal Protections
March 20, 2018
A California jury awarded a former Bank of America employee over $550,000 in February – and that was before it determined its punitive damages award. The verdict demonstrates that there may be additional routes of recovery available to whistleblowers outside the confines of the federal whistleblower statutes.
The Facts of the...
A VA Doctor's Suicide Results in New Whistleblower Protections
February 22, 2018
On October 26, 2017, a new law went into effect, aimed at ramping up protections for federal employees who report waste, fraud, or abuse in the federal government and ensuring accountability for supervisors who retaliate against them. The Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, named for a...
How the Bipartisan Budget Act Will Benefit Whistleblowers
February 13, 2018
On February 9, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Two provisions of the law that have received little coverage in the press provide a great boon for whistleblowers seeking awards through the SEC, CFTC, and IRS whistleblower programs, as well as any state false claims act.
In order to...
Emerging Issues in Whistleblower Law and Retaliation
December 1, 2017
Katz Banks Kumin partner Debra Katz published an article in the December, 2017 issue of ALI-CLE magazine, "The Practical Lawyer," entitled, "Emerging Issues in Whistleblower Law and Retaliation." Click here to view the article as a PDF, or read the full text below. Reprinted from the December 2017 issue...
Judge Finds that 'Technical' Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute Violations Constitute False Claims for Payment
November 14, 2017
In late August 2017, a federal judge in Pennsylvania held that violations of the federal Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute that defendants characterized as merely “technical” were, in fact, material to the federal government’s decision to reimburse healthcare entities for goods and services. See U.S. ex rel. Emanuele v....
Police Whistleblowers Could Help Curb Unethical Practices within the Force
October 25, 2017
A jury in Idaho recently awarded an Idaho State Police (ISP) whistleblower a verdict of $1.53 million on his charges of unlawful retaliation in violation of the Idaho Protection of Public Employees Act. Detective Brandon Eller had been marginalized, denied a pay increase, and transferred into less attractive night and weekend...
The Need for Whistleblower Protections at the Office for Human Research Protections
October 19, 2017
According to a recent investigative report by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), employees’ fear of reprisal may limit the Office of Human Research Protections’ (OHRP) ability to enforce protections for human subjects at research institutions with HHS-funded grants or contracts...
What Is the Duty Speech Doctrine and How Does It Affect Whistleblower Protections?
October 12, 2017
It is beyond dispute that employees who blow the whistle on unlawful conduct should be protected from retaliatory personnel actions. Because these workers often risk their careers to shed light on matters affecting the public interest, a legal system that permitted employers to silence whistleblowers could cause substantial...
Third Circuit Declares that New Jersey Whistleblower Protections Are More Than “Skin-Deep”
October 4, 2017
In a recent victory for whistleblowers, a prominent federal appellate court reiterated its expansive interpretation of New Jersey state whistleblower protections when it revived a patent lawyer’s lawsuit against his former employer. In Trzaska v. L’Oréal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit overturned a trial court’...
