History

• In 1989, Congress passed the Federal Whistleblower Act to assist federal workers in dealing with whistleblowers. Congress amended this law in 1994 to establish guidelines for the courts for civil cases.
  
  

Function

• This law prohibits employers from negative behavior or abuse towards the federal employee. It also ensures the employer will take proper steps against any personnel named by the whistleblower.
  
  

Geography

• Most every country and state has individual laws on how to handle whistleblower personnel. In the United States, there are toll free numbers so that a worker can call in anonymously.
  
  

Benefits

• An employee may be entitled to lost wages and benefits if terminated by the employer before the investigation of the claim.
  
  

Fun Fact

• The term whistleblower originally was for English police officers who would blow their whistle when seeing a crime. This would make the public aware of the danger as well as other officers.
  
  

Potential

• There was another amendment introduced to the Whistleblower Act in 2007 and again in 2009. This additional feature will provide assistance for whistleblowers employees who work for national security agencies.