Can federal Government employees bring a qui tam action under the False Claims Act?
Yes, but, read on. There is no absolute bar against Government employees or former employees from bringing a qui tam action under the False Claims Act. However, the Department of Justice does not support such actions and makes them very difficult to pursue. Judges also seem to dislike Government employee cases, especially when the False Claims Act violations came to the attention of the Government worker in the course of his regular job duties. Twisting other provisions of the False Claims Act to somehow apply, the courts have tended to dismiss the cases where the relator’s Government job duties included investigating and reporting fraud. If you are a federal Government employee and are considering filing a qui tam action, you should read these cases to get an idea of how such whistleblowers have been treated by the courts: United States ex rel. Williams v. NEC Corp., 931 F.2d 193 (11th Cir. 1991); United States ex rel. Hagood v. Sonoma County Water Agency, 929 F.2d 1416 (9th Cir. 1991
Related Questions
- The following frequently asked questions about the federal False Claims Act and its qui tam provisions are answered below. For general information, read What is Qui Tam?
- Can federal Government employees bring a qui tam action under the False Claims Act?
- What if I can afford a lawyer to bring a qui tam False Claims Act case?
