Under U.S. law, a whistle blower (or whistleblower) is an employee who "tells" on an employer, because he or she reasonably believed that the employer committed an illegal act.
What is Whistle Blower Protection?
Whistle blower protection is provided by Federal acts and related statutes that shield employees from retaliation for reporting illegal acts of employers. An employer can't rightfully retaliate in any way, such as discharging, demoting, suspending or harassing the whistle blower. If an employer retaliates anyway, whistle blower protection might entitle the employee to file a charge with a government agency, sue the employer, or both.
Typically, to be entitled to whistle blower protection, an employee must report an employer's alleged illegal act to the proper authority, such as a government or law-enforcement agency. An employee might not be entitled to whistle blower protection for reporting an illegal act only within the company. However, the employee might be protected from retaliation by public policy or other laws. For example, if an employee reports sexual harassment to the company's HR department, he or she is protected from retaliation by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Even if it turns out that an employer didn't actually break a law, an employee is still entitled to whistle blower protection from retaliation, if he or she reasonably believed that the employer committed an illegal act. However, whistle blower protection typically does not include employer retaliation for employee complaints about personal dislikes. To be protected from employer retaliation, an employee typically must report an alleged violation of a Federal law that has provisions to shield whistle blowers. (Though at the state level, some protect whistle blowers who report alleged violations of any laws, regulations or ordinances.) Collectively, such provisions are called whistle blower protections or whistle blower laws.
