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Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Whistleblower Provisions in the Economic Stimulus Package

Last updated Thursday, April 23, 2009 01:00 ET

President Barack Obama recently signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the “Act”) in an effort to stimulate American’s sinking economy.

04/23/2009 / SubmitMyPR /

President Barack Obama recently signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the “Act”) in an effort to stimulate American’s sinking economy.

The Act applies to whistleblowers who work for employers that will receive stimulus funds. It protects whistleblowers from reprisal if certain conditions are met. First, the whistleblower must report wrongful conduct related to: (1) gross mismanagement of an agency contract or stimulus funds; (2) gross waste of stimulus funds; (3) a danger to public health or safety related to the implementation or use of stimulus funds; (4) an abuse of authority related to the implementation or use of stimulus funds; or (5) a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to an agency contract or grant using stimulus funds. Second, the employee must have a “reasonable” belief that the employee possesses evidence of wrongdoing. Finally, the employee must disclose the wrongdoing to certain individuals or entities, such as an inspector general, a member of Congress, a state or federal regulatory or law enforcement agency, or the employee’s supervisor.

If an employee meets these conditions, his employer may not discharge, demote, or otherwise discriminate against the employee as a reprisal. An employer may rebut evidence of reprisal only by “clear and convincing” evidence that the employer would have taken the same action if no disclosure had been made.

If you would like to speak to an employment law attorney about an employment-related matter, contact the employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn Khoshbin LLP at [email protected].