Now that there are more protections available for whistleblowers than ever before, especially whistleblowers in federal agencies, opinions on the act of whistleblowing have also begun to shift in a more positive light. One recent letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal takes offense to the idea of whistleblower lawyers being similar to “war profiteers,” instead portraying whistleblowers as the “heroes” that taxpayers need to get the money back that they lost to the “true” war profiteers.
The letter paints a picture of what true war profiteering looks like: the sale of faulty weaponry or ammunition, the hiring of security guards that do not meet minimal testing standards, the sale of other defective products.
The writer believes that the kind of partnership that the False Claims Act has established between the government and whistleblowers is absolutely imperative to protecting the general public, including the people that serve in the armed forces. People who come forward and act as whistleblowers to expose corruption should be celebrated, he says, not demonized.
As previously mentioned, this definitely reflects the way that public attitude toward whistleblowers has shifted over time. In previous decades when whistleblowers were not afforded the kinds of protections that they are today, there would have been a prevailing attitude of “keep your head down and stay quiet.” Today, more people have the guts to come forward and alert authorities to wrongdoing because there are protections and potential rewards in place.
For in-depth information on how you can move forward in exposing wrongdoing within your workplace, consult the knowledgeable Dallas lawyers at Whistleblower Law for Managers.
