whistleblowing

Time magazine named three whistleblowers as their people of the year in 2002. An article in an Australian newspaper, Let's encourage whistleblowing, looks at efforts in that Country to have people report problems under whistleblowing statutes and discusses the history of whistleblowing protection in the United States.

Next week, the US Supreme Court will look at a whistleblowing case involving the filing of a False Claims Act complaint against a county.

The False Claims Act says any "person" found to have obtained federal funding through untrue statements is liable for fines up to $10,000 and must repay the government three times the amount fraudulently obtained.

The question before the Supreme Court is whether "person" can apply to a county, said Chandler's attorney, Judson H. Miner of Chicago.

Will the Supreme Court uphold the decision to apply the law against a county? It's possible.

The False Claims Act does apply to companies that do business with the federal government or which receive federal subsidies. The best way for a business to avoid a False Claims Act suit is to set up programs that eliminate, or drastically reduce the possibility of a need for whistleblowing in the first place. See: Why Should Your Company Establish an Effective Corporate Compliance Program?