Research your employee rights under U.S. Federal whistleblower laws, also referred to as whistle-blower laws, through the resources below. Whistleblower laws provide employee protection from retaliation for reporting the unhealthy, dangerous or illegal acts of employers to the proper authorities, such as government or law-enforcement agencies.

Reporting such acts only within the company does not provide employer retaliation protection under most whistleblower laws. (An exception is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.) However, you might be protected from employer retaliation by other laws.

For example, if you report to the HR department that your manager is illegally disallowing overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act, you are protected from employer retaliation by the Act.

Many of the so-called whistleblower laws are not entitled as such. Rather they are collectively called whistleblower laws or whistleblower protections, because they have provisions for protecting employees from retaliation for reporting employer violations of the laws (referred to as "whistleblowing" or "whistle blowing"). They are sometimes collectively called retaliation or anti-retaliation laws too.

Federal whistleblower laws mandate only the minimums to which employers in all states must adhere. States are allowed to enact their own whistleblower laws that that include or expand the minimum protections provided by the Federal laws. You are protected by whichever law—Federal or state—that provides the most protection.

See also State Labor Law to research relevant laws and Employee Rights for self-help books on the subject. For a large variety of employee rights and labor law topics all in one place, visit EmployeeIssues.com, partner site of TechnicalJobsearch.com. Links to EmployeeIssues.com are also included below.

Attorney Referral and Labor Law Facts
Read free facts in the Law Library on a variety of legal topics, including employee rights under employment and labor laws (Jobs and Employment section). Also includes tips for hiring and working with an attorney. If you would like qualified, prescreened attorneys to evaluate your whistleblower or any other "case" and respond, you may post it confidentially and for free, with no obligation. From LegalMatch, a free attorney referral service.

Employment Discrimination Laws
Employment discrimination laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission consider employer retaliation to be discriminatory. Consequently, they have provisions that protect whistleblowers from employer retaliation for reporting violations of discrimination laws.

Government Accountability Project
Includes a collection of resources for government and private-sector whistleblowers, including those for "How to Blow the Whistle".

Military Whistleblower Protection Act
A whistleblower law that provides retaliation protection for members of the U.S. military. It is enforced by the Department of Defense Inspector General.

National Whistleblower Center
Whistleblowers.org is a nonprofit organization that provides a variety of resources for whistleblowers, including an attorney referral service and explanations of the protections afforded under whistleblower laws.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
A landmark whistleblower law also called the Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability Act of 2002. It protects employees of publicly-traded corporations from retaliation for reporting alleged violations of any rule or regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any provision of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders.

Whistleblower Law Research
Research what are collectively called whistleblower laws that make it illegal for employers to retaliate in any way, against employees who report employers' unhealthy, dangerous or illegal acts to the proper authorities. Courtesy of EmployeeIssues.com.

Whistleblower Laws
The U.S. Department of Labor and its divisions enforce a number of whistleblower laws and other laws that have built-in protection from employer retaliation for reporting violations of the laws.

Whistleblower Laws
WhistleblowerLaws.com is an attorney-owned site that provides general information about whistleblower laws and the government agencies that enforce them.

Whistleblower Protection Act
A whistleblower law that provides retaliation protection for Federal government employees. It's enforced by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC).

Whistleblower Protection Rule
Protects employees of Department of Energy contractors from retaliation by their employers, for disclosure of information concerning danger to public or worker health or safety, substantial violations of law, or gross mismanagement; for participation in Congressional proceedings; or for refusal to participate in dangerous activities.

Whistleblower Laws provides general information only and is not intended as legal advice nor as a substitute for legal advice. It is presented as is, with no warranty either expressed or implied. Neither the author nor publisher are engaged in rendering legal services. See an employment lawyer for legal advice. Should you act based on this information, you do so at your sole risk. Neither the author nor publisher shall have any liability arising from your decision to act on this information. Read our Disclaimer for more information.