New Whistleblower Protections!

The Stimulus Package that was enacted in February, otherwise called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, provides sweeping whistleblower protections to any employee of an employer who receives any stimulus money. The protections found in section 1553 of the Act prohibit any demotion, discharge, or other discrimination of an employee when he or she has disclosed “gross mismanagement” of a grant or public contract, “gross waste” of stimulus funds, “substantial and specific danger to public health or safety related to the implementation or use of” the funds, “an abuse of authority related to the implementation or use of covered funds,” or “a violation of law, rule, or regulation” related to the use of the funds.

The law presumes that a prohibited act is related to the disclosure if the retaliating person knew of the disclosure or the reprisal occurred closely after the disclosure was made. This presumption can only be overcome by clear and convincing evidence that the employer would have taken the action even without the disclosure.

The protections give an offended employee the right to reinstatement, damages, and attorney fees, costs, and expert witnesses’ fees. Further, a pre-dispute arbitration agreement is unenforceable to avoid court.