On October 14, 2006, Kenneth J. Sugarman, an associate at Rudy Exelrod & Zieff, LLP, spoke in San Francisco, CA on whistleblower and retaliation concerns.
Whistleblowing means the reporting of an employer legal violation, which may not necessarily be unethical.
Retaliation is an act that an employer takes against an employee that would make a reasonable person not want to make a complaint. For example, an employee who does not get his/her usual assignments, or assistance at work after making a complaint may be able to argue retaliation.
Whether a person had reasonable good faith belief that what he/she complains about is actually unlawful is a consideration. For example, if someone views his/her employment in jeopardy because of poor performance, and uses whisleblower protections to prevent discipline, it is important for the employer to document the employee’s performance to be able to show that the person was on the path towards termination as a result of performance problems not from legal violation claims made.
Comment Preview