What kind of protection does the False Claims Act provide for whistleblowers?
The False Claims Act provides a very effective remedy for employees who have been terminated or have suffered other retaliation as a consequence of investigating or reporting fraud to the government. You should know however, that, similarly to the anti-retaliatory provisions of the Civil Rights Act, there is little that you can do to prevent being fired, although you can sue for damages if it happens. The False Claims Act permits an employee to sue the employer individually for retaliation and has potential remedies that include “all relief necessary to make the employee whole” including, but not limited to, reinstatement to previous job or position, or, if that is not practical, ‘front pay’ damages for termination, double back pay, compensation for “special damages” including litigation expenses and reasonable attorneys fees and which have been held by some courts to include compensation for emotional distress. Obviously, in some cases, the ‘bounty’ percentage of what the government r
