Have you ever heard the term whistleblower and wondered what it meant? The term "whistleblower" is taken from the phrase "to blow the whistle" and relates to a referee or a lawman who blew a whistle in the event of a foul or illegal act.
Think about the old movies where a copy is blowing his whistle and chasing a thief down the street. In business this equates to any individual or people who will alert the relevant central authority officials of any wrong conduct or fake activity within or by a company.
Being a whistleblower can be a hard call to make, but it is the right thing to do if you know that your company is committing crime. It's vital to get a knowledgeable whistleblower attorney on your side to take your case and advise you on the best way to proceed.
There are also many laws in place that not only protect whistleblowers, but also reward them. They include the False Claims Act, Qui Tam laws, the Dodd Frank Act and the Whistleblower Protection Act.
False Claims Act
What sorts of activities merit whistleblowing? The False Claims Act covers an abundance of types of fraud that are thought to be illegal. They include:
- Misrepresenting licenses or requirements to get drugs passed or win contracts
- Charging for any goods or services not included the contract
- Commending or performing nonessential medical procedures for reimbursement
- Double billing
- Charging prices for brand drugs when generic drugs are delivered
- Reverse false claims- not returning cash when the govt overpays
- Misrepresenting a physician's signature to claim compensation for Medicaid or Medicare
- Charging for services or products that are never delivered
- Delivering below standard hardware or supplies
- Charging for tests and work that haven't ever been performed
- Making phantom staff and doctoring time slips
- Using kickback or bribes to sell product, services or win contracts
Whistleblowing in the military
Even in the military you can blow the whistle without fear of reprisal as you are covered by the Military Whistleblower Protection Act. This allows any member of the armed forces who suspects foul play like fraud or false defense claims to go direct to an attorney or their member of congress while not having to go thru their chain of command and report the issue. In exchange while the inquiry is carried out they will be allowed protecting status. Again this suggests that an employer can't end, demote, threaten or harass any member of the armed forces who has reported an issue.
Think about the old movies where a copy is blowing his whistle and chasing a thief down the street. In business this equates to any individual or people who will alert the relevant central authority officials of any wrong conduct or fake activity within or by a company.
Being a whistleblower can be a hard call to make, but it is the right thing to do if you know that your company is committing crime. It's vital to get a knowledgeable whistleblower attorney on your side to take your case and advise you on the best way to proceed.
There are also many laws in place that not only protect whistleblowers, but also reward them. They include the False Claims Act, Qui Tam laws, the Dodd Frank Act and the Whistleblower Protection Act.
False Claims Act
What sorts of activities merit whistleblowing? The False Claims Act covers an abundance of types of fraud that are thought to be illegal. They include:
- Misrepresenting licenses or requirements to get drugs passed or win contracts
- Charging for any goods or services not included the contract
- Commending or performing nonessential medical procedures for reimbursement
- Double billing
- Charging prices for brand drugs when generic drugs are delivered
- Reverse false claims- not returning cash when the govt overpays
- Misrepresenting a physician's signature to claim compensation for Medicaid or Medicare
- Charging for services or products that are never delivered
- Delivering below standard hardware or supplies
- Charging for tests and work that haven't ever been performed
- Making phantom staff and doctoring time slips
- Using kickback or bribes to sell product, services or win contracts
Whistleblowing in the military
Even in the military you can blow the whistle without fear of reprisal as you are covered by the Military Whistleblower Protection Act. This allows any member of the armed forces who suspects foul play like fraud or false defense claims to go direct to an attorney or their member of congress while not having to go thru their chain of command and report the issue. In exchange while the inquiry is carried out they will be allowed protecting status. Again this suggests that an employer can't end, demote, threaten or harass any member of the armed forces who has reported an issue.
About the Author:
A team of experienced of whistleblower lawyers are familiar with the laws that rule to a whistleblower. Briane Fuselier share an article about the laws in place that not only protect whistleblowers, but also reward them.
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