Blowing the Whistle in the Workplace

Employees who observe illegal or unethical conduct in the workplace should be encouraged to blow the whistle or report said conduct. However, oftentimes employees do not alert the proper authorities out of fear of retaliation by their employer. With that, it is critical that employees understand their right to report illegal or unethical conduct in the workplace without retaliation.

Both Missouri and federal laws protect employees who reveal corruption or wrongdoing on the part of an employer. Examples of protected whistleblowing activities include:

• Objecting to or declining to commit or participate in illegal activity;

• Providing written notice to a supervisor or manager threatening to inform governmental authorities of illegal activity by an employer;

• Cooperating with government authorities investigating acts of wrongdoing;

• Reporting safety and health concerns to OSHA or other government authorities.

If an employee reports any of the above-referenced illegal or unethical conduct to their employer, Missouri and federal laws protect them from their employer taking adverse action against them based on the report of illegal or unethical conduct. Retaliation can take many forms, but typically consists of: termination or other disciplinary action, reduction of work hours or pay, modification of job duties, and increase in criticism of work performance.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of unlawful retaliation for reporting unlawful or unethical activity in the workplace, please consider contacting the attorneys at Murphy & Kinney for a free evaluation of your potential whistleblower retaliation case.