Watching corporations perform illegal acts from a distance, one may feel helpless knowing they’ll lose their job for reporting such acts. Employees should never work under extreme psychological stress that often comes with being silenced, but unfortunately, it’s all too common in today’s workplaces.
Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers, featuring a hardworking Riverside whistleblower attorney with experience handling situations where employees finally had enough, offers legal options for those who’ve reported illegal acts yet find themselves unfairly fired for doing what’s right.
When an employee exposes illegal or dishonest activities within an organization, they are known as “whistleblowers.” An employee that chooses to expose such conduct may fear losing their job and their source of income. This is because some employers retaliate, or try to get revenge, against that employee. Retaliation against a whistleblower can take different forms, including:
- Receiving negative performance reviews
- Being denied a pay increase or receiving fewer hours
- Suffering excessive and unfair disciplinary action
- Enduring a wrongful demotion or poor recommendation
Riverside Attorneys Representing Employees in Whistleblower Cases
It takes courage, sometimes perfect timing, to report sexual harassment, bullying, wage fraud, and other acts that detriment state and federal laws. Holding businesses large and small accountable needn’t always require vast amounts of proof – although the more proof one can produce, the stronger personal injury claims resulting from whistleblower retaliation become. Many employees feel powerless to act, while many more speak up in hopes of bringing positive changes into the workplace. If you’re ready to speak with an understanding whistleblower attorney about duplicitous actions transpiring where you work, it’s important to talk with an experienced one. Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers takes single or class action cases stemming from:- Workplaces knowingly violating health and safety regulations, but fire employees for reporting such violations to OSHA or similar agencies.
- Employers who retaliate against employees who report sexual crimes.
- Financial crimes, such as ‘fudging’ reports or falsifying documents, being committed by corporations who then fire employees for collectively reporting to the FBI or similar agencies.
- Companies that cause shareholder oppression, steal shares, or commit similar crimes where shareholders are affected – but fire employees who catch the wind and speak up.
- Employers who discriminate in any fashion then fire workers for trying to speak out.
California Law Protects Employees from Retaliation for Reporting Violations
Whistleblowers are protected from being fired or terminated, as well as suffering other forms of retaliation, for reporting suspected illegal activity by their employer. In some cases, employees are protected by the law even if their employer did not actually violate a law. If an employee reasonably believed their employer did something illegal, they will be entitled to protection under the law. Different sections of the Labor Code protect employees who disclose violations of law or report safety violations and other illegal acts. There are other situations in which an employee will be protected even if the scenario does not fall under one of the explicit state protections. An experienced Riverside whistleblower attorney at Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers handles these and many other wrongful terminations stemming from whistleblower actions meant to stabilize the workplace for present and future employees.Experienced Legal Representation for Qui Tam Lawsuits
Qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur, the Latin phrase shortened simply to ‘qui tam’, is like whistleblowing but focuses on frauds and retaliation in the government sector. In layman’s terms, qui tam loosely translates to ‘he who sues the king also sues himself’. Qui tam lawsuits are civil cases brought by whistleblowers according to certain laws, such as the California False Claims Act. The goal of the Act is to prevent fraud against the government. In essence, this fraud is committed by employers and considered criminal. Legal cases are filed in order to recover taxpayer money taken through fraudulent conduct. An example of a qui tam action in the medical service industry may be a fraud committed by a hospital. For example, if an employee working at the hospital is aware of Medicare invoices related to surgeries that were not performed, they may file a qui tam action against the hospital. If the government recovers damages from the hospital, the employee may be entitled to a percentage of this money. In some situations, the recovery may be substantial, particularly if the fraud has been continuous over the years. Some other examples of fraud that may support a qui tam lawsuit are:- Knowingly relying on a false statement to receive a paid claim by the government;
- Knowingly providing a fraudulent claim for payment to the government;
- Conspiring with other individuals to set forth a fraudulent claim to be paid by the government; or
- Knowingly relying on a false record to conceal obligations to pay the government funds.