Understanding employee rights when whistleblowing

On Behalf of | Sep 5, 2014 | Whistleblower Protection |

When an employee notices or experiences their employer violating state or federal laws, the employee could speak out and report these violations. While it is important to report these instances, our firm understands that not all employees will speak out about the injustices they experience. Because an employee might fear losing their job or employer retaliation, whistleblower rights have been established. Employees in Minnesota should feel comfortable reporting these instances and taking legal action to protect their rights and the rights of others.

Whether they are directly experiencing these violations or they observe a violation, an employee should understand that they could take action. If retaliation is experienced after a whistleblowing instance, this could be considered a violation of the employee’s rights. This could be a violation of the Minnesota Whistleblower Act as well as federal law.

Protection exists for whistleblowers in order to promote reporting and eliminate retaliatory consequences. In some cases, an employee may notice that an employer has failed to pay overtime, has falsified information on loan or banking documents, has hired undocumented employees, committed billing fraud or any other illegal activity. If an employee is terminated, demoted, harassed or experiences any other damages as a result of whistleblowing, they might have a legal action to recover compensation for the damages suffered in the situation.

No matter the type of illegal activity or violation an employee seeks to report about their employer, they should understand their rights in the situation. Our firm’s whistleblower protection overview could help give an employee insight about their predicament. This could help them take appropriate action while also ensuring their rights and interests and protected.