Often, our qui tam whistleblower clients come to us with concerns about potential retaliation by their employers, or even industry blacklisting, as a result of their whistleblowing.  Unfortunately, it is possible that those unscrupulous companies will sometimes try to punish the qui tam whistleblower, rather than reward his or her integrity. However, the False Claims Act does offer protection to its whistleblowers, in three ways.

First, the False Claims Act has an anti-retaliation provision.  Under this provision, an employer may not discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass or discriminate against an employee for bringing a qui tam case under the False Claims Act, or engaging in certain other types of protected activity. If the employer violates that prohibition, the employee can then sue the employer for damages (such as lost wages) and other relief. This is one way that the False Claims Act offers protection to an employee who blows the whistle on his or her employer.

Secondly, when a qui tam case is filed, it is filed “under seal.”  This means that, at least at the time of filing, your identity is kept a secret from the public.  On average, the “seal period” last about 18 months.  While the case does typically become public after the seal is lifted, the seal period does give whistleblowers some amount of time to plan for their future if they fear retaliation or blacklisting from their employer.  In addition, at least in some cases, the courts can be persuaded to keep a qui tam whistleblower’s identity a secret even after the seal period has passed.

A third way that the False Claims Act protects qui tam whistleblowers is that the Act provides for very substantial monetary awards for whistleblowers. It is possible for a False Claims Act whistleblower to receive between 15% and 30% of the government’s entire recovery.  Successful qui tam whistleblowers do receive monetary compensation, which can then provide them with an economic cushion, should they need it.