Philadelphia Whistleblower Retaliation – How to Fight Back

No one ever expects that they will be a witness to acts of fraud, especially illegal activity committed by an employer. Nevertheless, some may assert that an employee who discovers illegal activity in the workplace and fails to report such actions is just as culpable as the person committing the crime(s). It is unfortunate that a large number of employees allow fear and intimidation to hinder reporting fraudulent occurrences committed by employers or co-workers while on the job.

An employee who is the first to report such federal fraudulent activities to the government is referred to as a “whistleblower.” But what laws protect a whistleblower from being improperly fired and becoming a victim of whistleblower retaliation? These are important questions that one administrator who “blew the whistle” at illegal use of funds at a Philadelphia school has received the answers to.

According to a Philadelphia Inquirer article, the former female administrator found herself the victim of wrongful termination in Philadelphia as a whistleblower. The article mentions that the woman has not been able to get a job since being fired. Her whistleblower suit cites Pennsylvania’s whistleblower law and also alleges civil conspiracy, wrongful termination, and defamation. She had filed a complaint with federal investigators regarding “a pattern of criminal misuse of local, state, and federal funds.”

In order to apprehend and help curb fraudulent activity against the government, the False Claims Act was created in 1986, which also protects employees from whistleblower retaliation such as loss of salary, unjust termination, work suspension, harassment, threats, wrongful discrimination, and demotion. If any of these events take place, as they did in the Philadelphia administrator’s case, an employee (or former employee) may want to contact a wrongful termination attorney and file a Qui Tam suit against their employer to seek compensation and damages.