Category Archives: Qui Tam / False Claim Act

Are you a corporate or government whistleblower? Are you afraid? Confused?
Relax. Get informed and contact Sarelson Law Firm today.
What is the most important thing to know?

Before you quit your job and before you tell the world, contact a lawyer. Existing employees are in a far superior position than former employees and information already public is not protected. Retain experienced legal counsel to guide you through the process.

Who is your employer?
Various state and federal laws provide for different forms of protection for those engaged in whistleblowing activity. But perhaps the first and most important question is, “who is your employer?” Employees of publicly traded companies and their subsidiaries are protected under the Sarbanes Oxley Act and the Dodd Frank Act.
Other state and federal whistleblower laws are premised on the number of employees a company employs. Some laws require an employer to have 50 employees (the Family and Medical Leave Act), to have 20 employees (the Age Discrimination in Employment Act), or to have 15 employees (sex, race and religious discrimination).
Florida has a private whistleblower act that applies to employers with at least 10 employees and a civil rights act that applies to employers with at least 15 employees.
Other whistleblower statutes are premised on the amount of revenue the employer takes in. The Fair Labor Standards Act applies to employers with at least $500,000 in annual sales (not profit).
The Internal Revenue Service has a whistleblower statute premised upon the amount of money the company is failing to pay the IRS. The IRS wants to see at least $2M in unpaid taxes.
Public employees in Florida have their own specific whistleblower statute.
The first question a great whistleblower lawyer will ask is, “who do you work for?”
What are you blowing the whistle about?
Companies do stupid things and make bad business decisions all the time – that’s just part of business and risk taking. The key is to make sure that you are blowing the whistle about something that is more than just a bad business decision. Is the company violating securities laws? Is the company defrauding its investors and shareholders? Is the company using questionable accounting practices? Are senior officers making false disclosures to auditors and government agencies? If your employer is a government contractor, is the company defrauding the government by overbilling or under-performing? Is your employer violating anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation statutes? Is your employer violating wage laws by forcing employees to work “off the clock” or by not paying overtime? Is your company violating any local, state or federal law or regulation? If the answer is yes or potentially yes to any of these questions, then you have may have whistleblower status.
Who makes the best whistleblowers?
You do — the employee who cares about business ethics, the public servant who cares about government waste.
Anyone can obtain whistleblower status but senior employees generally have more access to more information. Employees in human resources, legal, accounting, bookkeeping, accounts receivable, finance and information technology are more likely to have insider information about corporate or government wrongdoing.
How am I protected?
Whistleblower statutes make it illegal to terminate an employee because the employee engaged in whistleblowing activity. Anti-retaliation provisions are very broad. Despite this, whistleblowers have to be prepared for significant blowback. Just because something is illegal does not mean that it will not happen.
What is the incentive to blow the whistle?
Most whistleblowers are motivated by an innate sense of right and wrong. If you are fired in retaliation, you generally are able to seek back and front pay for the financial loss and additional compensation for pain and suffering. In some circumstances, punitive damages are available.
Some whistleblowers are entitled to additional financial compensation by the government as a “thank you” for blowing the whistle. Three federal laws permit additional financial compensation – the Internal Revenue Service’s bounty program, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Dodd-Frank bounty program and the False Claims Act’s recovery program.
What should I not do?
The absolute worst thing a potential whistleblower can do is to resign prematurely. Many employees claim that they were forced to quit or they just could not deal with the situation any longer. Generally speaking, an employee who voluntarily resigns cannot bring an employment or whistleblower lawsuit. Early retention of legal counsel is the key.

How do I pay for my attorney?
Sarelson Law Firm, P.A. generally accepts whistleblower cases on a contingency fee. We provide a full range of legal services, including presuit investigation, litigation, cooperation with various government agencies and media outreach.