Fraud is a word that has legal significance in a number of different practice areas. In the context of criminal law, fraud may mean the intentionally deceitful actions of a person to deprive someone else of their money. In the context of family law, it may mean the intentional deceit of a man into believing that he is a father’s child.
Fraud can appear in the context of employment law, and when it comes to qui tam claims, it is a critical component of proving a case. A Minnesota worker may discover that their employer has in some way perpetrated a fraud on the government and that the fraud has enriched the employer and hurt the government. This can happen when an employer demands payment for work it never performed for the government or overcharges for services that it did actually do.
When an employee finds out that this type of fraud has been perpetrated, they may initiate a qui tam claim. Qui tam claims help the government recover the financial losses they have sustained from employers’ acts of fraud, but they may also provide the involved employees with some compensation for stepping up and reporting the fraudulent actions of their employers.
Qui tam claims are similar to whistleblower claims in that they place employees in the difficult position of having to report on the wrongful or bad acts of their employers. When workers have concerns and questions about their rights and options with regard to the potentially wrongful practices of their employers, they can speak with attorneys who advocate for employees’ rights. These legal professionals can help them make good decisions about how to manage their employment-based dilemmas.
