The mathematical average of the total recoveries (settlements and judgments) for this time period is approximately $3.3 million, with an average whistleblower award of $562,000.
WHISTLEBLOWER LAWSUITConfirm that there is an actual “false claim”Collect some evidence if possible.Hire an experienced whistleblower attorney.File a whistleblower complaint under seal.Offer to help the government with the investigation.Be patient with the process.Collect the largest possible reward.
The whistleblower may receive a reward of 10 percent to 30 percent of what the government recovers, if the SEC recovers more than $1 million. The SEC may increase the whistleblower award based on many factors, such as: How important the information that the whistleblower provided was to the enforcement action.
The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is an independent federal agency charged with investigating and prosecuting violations of the Whistleblower Protection Act.
What is whistleblower retaliation? A federal employee authorized to take, direct others to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action may not take, fail to take, or threaten to take any personnel action against an employee because of protected whistleblowing.
Typically, after the SEC posts the Notice of Eligibility, it takes 12-18 months for SEC whistleblowers to receive their monetary award.
Unlike ordinary unfair dismissal claims, a dismissal for whistleblowing is an automatically unfair dismissal – this means there is no minimum amount of time you need to have worked for your employer to make a claim.
All awards will be subject to current federal tax reporting and withholding requirements. Whistleblower will receive a Form 1099 or other form as may be prescribed by law, regulation, or publication.
So while whistleblowing may take time, it is worth it. Overall, you can be reimbursed for payments to attorneys, you will not incur much risk, and you will make at least $100,000 if your case wins. Dr. Feldman sums up why it's worth being a whistleblower.
Typically, it takes several months for an attorney to pull together and file the complaint, and the government investigation takes around 1-2 years, but can take up to as much as 10 depending on the case. Upon serving the whistleblower complaint, litigation commences.
Whistleblower investigations vary in length of time. The parties may settle the retaliation complaint at any point in the investigation either through OSHA's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program, with the assistance of the assigned investigator, or through their own negotiated settlement that OSHA approves.
The Whistleblower Protection Act protects “any disclosure of information” by federal government employees that they “reasonably believes evidences an activity constituting a violation of law, rules, or regulations, or mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority or a substantial and specific danger to public ...