The climate of planet earth is in grave danger. Despite the voices of those who choose to ignore the mounting evidence of this crisis, more people are aware of it now than ever before. Along with this increased awareness has come expanded agreement that action is needed now to address what is now a climate emergency. This past November, eleven thousand scientists from around the globe united in warning all of us that immediate and immense effort is required if we are to have any hope of preventing the widespread suffering that will occur if we fail to act.

In many ways, it appears as though we are well on our way to addressing the problem of global climate change. After all, we have made impressive gains in developing renewable energy, and we continue to pursue energy efficiency in leaps and bounds. Despite all the movement in the right direction, fossil fuel emissions around the world continued to increase for the third consecutive year. While we must continue to develop wind, solar, and other proven renewable energy resources, we must also be vigilant in stopping activities that lead to increased carbon emissions. Some of the activities that must be addressed are, in fact, illegal, and corruption and crime have been exposed within the timber industry as well as the petroleum production industry.

Whistleblowers and would-be whistleblowers who work in the timber, oil, gas, and other energy industries are in a position to expose crime and corruption from within their industries. When crime and corruption are exposed, they can be stopped. For example, fossil fuel companies have long known the climate-change risks associated with their products. Recent testimony given before Congress revealed a campaign by the petroleum industry to create confusion and disseminate disinformation about the climate change risks associated with their products. The campaign is eerily similar to the tactics used by the tobacco industry to confuse and misinform the public about the health risks associated with their products.

There is also the possibility of pursuing claims of actionable fraud against petroleum companies. There are at least a few companies who claim they are moving forward in a way that will comply with the Paris Agreement while at the same time funding infrastructure projects that will not help them accomplish that. As petroleum companies are slow to work toward the change they claim they are making, the climate is also being assaulted by carbon emissions from illegal logging operations in countries where corrupt governments and weak environmental laws are failing to stop them. Actionable fraud and other types of whistleblower cases that could be brought against petroleum and timber companies could be effective in preventing activities that contribute to climate change if they result in meaningful sanctions against the responsible parties.

Whistleblower protection attorneys are potent allies in the face of painful retaliation. If you have experienced retaliation as the result of reporting safety, health, financial, or other concerns, call the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorney of Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (800) 707-9577 for an initial consultation.

 

 

Whistleblowers are in such a precarious position that they need all of the help they can get. Fortunately, whistleblower protection attorneys are willing to go to bat for their clients day after day, even when other groups that are supposed to be joining them in their efforts to protect whistleblowers fail to do so. The Trump whistleblower situation has already revealed a lack of federal protection for whistleblower anonymity.  It is too early to predict what consequences Donald Trump and others who have tweeted or blurted the whistleblower’s name or referenced articles revealing his identity will face.

In addition to the lack of federal protection of their anonymity, whistleblowers face yet another type of insult. The insult comes in the form of a sharp-tongued senator who has tweeted several hostile remarks about the Trump whistleblower as she continues to be a member of a Senate caucus whose name implies that it exists to protect whistleblowers. The attorney for the Trump whistleblower, along with other whistleblower protection attorneys are calling for Senator Marsha Blackburn’s resignation from the caucus, and for a good reason.

Senator Blackburn’s comments fit right in with tweets and statements that have been made by President Trump and his allies in what appears to be a unified effort to intimidate witnesses in the presidential impeachment probe. It is no secret that Blackburn has long been a supporter of Trump, and her comments echo sentiments that have been expressed by Trump and others who support him.

Attorney David Colapinto, a co-founder of the National Whistleblower Center, along with the Trump whistleblower attorney and other whistleblower protection attorneys question how someone with views that are so contrary to whistleblower protection can be a member of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus. The caucus was created in 2015, by a bipartisan group of senators who wanted to discuss legislative issues affecting the treatment of whistleblowers in addition to collecting and distributing information regarding whistleblower issues.

Attacks on Twitter and elsewhere and mentions of the whistleblower’s name increase safety risks to the whistleblower and their family every time they happen. The attacks continue, even though every allegation made by the whistleblower is substantiated by one or more witnesses, and even after whistleblower attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter to the White House in November calling for an end to the attacks. Meanwhile, the whistleblower has had to surround himself or herself and their family with additional security.

It is clear that whistleblowers are not receiving adequate protection under federal laws. It is also clear that little stands in the way of attempts to discredit whistleblowers after they come forward and to dissuade would-be whistleblowers before they speak up. The Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC support whistleblowers in their efforts to expose waste, corruption, and fraud. To learn more about whistleblower protection, call us at 1 (800) 707-9577 to arrange an initial consultation with the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC.

There’s no denying the intense pressure that is coming from President Trump and others to reveal the name of the whistleblower whose complaint triggered the impeachment inquiry that is pending against the president. The building pressure to disclose the whistleblower’s identity gives rise to two critical questions regarding whistleblower protection. First, is revealing the identity of the Trump whistleblower illegal? Second, regardless of whether disclosing the whistleblower’s name is illegal, are there any consequences that the person or people who reveal the whistleblower’s name will suffer if they choose to disclose it?

Government officials within the intelligence and national security community report that for most individuals, disclosing the whistleblower’s name would not break any law. Unfortunately, it appears as though Congress has not built much protection for whistleblowers’ identities into federal law. The only person who is legally prohibited from disclosing the whistleblower’s name is the inspector general, as specified in the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998. It’s possible that protections for whistleblowers against disclosure by the president or members of Congress have not yet been made law because there has not, until now, been a need for it. Government officials report that over the years, presidents and others within the government have shown whistleblowers tremendous deference and respect, including refraining from naming them publicly. If the president publicly reveals the name of the whistleblower, it would be the first time in history that a president did so.

Fortunately, the potential consequences that might befall a person who chooses to reveal the identity of the Trump whistleblower could prove incentive enough to prevent that disclosure from happening. The possible consequences associated with disclosing the whistleblower’s identity are dependent upon who it is that does the disclosing. For example, if a member of Congress chooses to reveal the whistleblower’s identity, that member of Congress could face legislative sanctions and be removed from some or all of the committees that they are currently a part of. If the president decides to identify the whistleblower, members of the House of Representatives could draft an article of impeachment alleging retaliation against the whistleblower.

The president, government officials, and the media are not the only ones who could face consequences for identifying the Trump whistleblower. If a member of the general public reveals the whistleblower’s name and the whistleblower or anyone in their family suffers harm, the person who made the disclosure could be subject to a civil lawsuit by the whistleblower’s legal team.

The lack of federal protection for whistleblower anonymity that is being exposed by the present efforts to disclose the identity of the Trump whistleblower is likely to discourage other potential whistleblowers who are considering coming forward on any matter. The Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC continue to support whistleblowers in their efforts to expose waste, corruption, and fraud. To learn more about whistleblower protection, call us at 1 (800) 707-9577 to arrange an initial consultation with the Mississippi Whistleblower attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC.

 

The holiday season is often associated with expressions of gratitude and thankfulness for the things in our lives that are good. Some of the good things in our lives are the result of the efforts of whistleblowers. Over the course of American history, whistleblowers have stepped forward and taken action to protect others by exposing government and corporate misconduct, often at a high cost to themselves and their families. As we give thanks this holiday season, let’s remember some of the ways that whistleblowers have improved the lives of Americans throughout history by standing up to America’s powerful corporations.

In 1974, Karen Silkwood died under mysterious circumstances after she testified before the Atomic Energy Commission regarding plutonium contamination in her body that occurred while she was working in a Kerr- McGee nuclear plant. Silkwood reported health and safety violations and described working conditions that had exposed her and her co-workers to dangerous radiation. At the time of her death, Karen Silkwood was preparing to go public with more evidence of her experience. Other nuclear-plant workers, including the GE-Three, reported unsafe conditions at other nuclear facilities and testified before Congress. The work done by nuclear power plant whistleblowers led to improvements in workplace safety for nuclear power plant workers.

Public knowledge about the dark side of cigarette manufacturing came about because Jeffrey Wigand spoke up despite threats to his life. Wigand appeared on 60 Minutes. During his interview, he said that the tobacco firm where he worked as a VP for research and development, Brown & Williamson, purposefully manipulated the level of nicotine in its cigarettes to make it more likely that smokers would become addicted to their product.

A pair of courageous women, Cynthia Cooper and Sherron Watkins, exposed fraudulent accounting at two giant corporations. As a result of the women’s efforts to expose the accounting frauds that they had witnessed, Worldcom and Enron both ended up in bankruptcy.

Some of the whistleblowers that have exposed fraud are less well known than the more widely publicized whistleblowers who were involved in situations with big-name businesses. Academic fraud threatens the integrity of American school systems, and courageous individuals have stepped forward to expose that fraud. For example, Brian Donlon blew the whistle on fraud within Maryland’s Montgomery County Public School System. Donlon’s situation also paved the way for Maryland to pass legislation protecting whistleblowers in public schools, although the new law does not protect Donlon himself because it is not retroactive. Mary Bozoyan experienced severe retaliation after exposing grade-fixing, cover-ups, stealing, and other misdeeds allegedly committed by the principal of a New York high school where she worked as a math teacher.

To learn more about whistleblower laws and whistleblower protection claims, call the seasoned Mississippi Whistleblower Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (800) 707-9577 to set up an initial consultation.

 

 

 

Whistleblowers are to be commended for their courage and willingness to come forward with information that can help others and protect them from harm. Unfortunately, between the time a whistleblower first reports a concern and the time the concern becomes publicly evident, tragedies can occur. A construction worker who had reported construction safety violations to his supervisor was seriously injured when the building he was working on collapsed. Many others were wounded in the Hard Rock hotel collapse in New Orleans, and three people perished.

Delmer Joel Ramirez Palma is a citizen of Honduras. He and his family have lived in New Orleans for eighteen years. When the Hard Rock hotel collapsed, Ramirez suffered trauma to his head and an eye injury that will require surgery, in addition to internal inflammation and injury. Several days after the hotel collapse, after Ramirez had been released from the hospital, he was fishing with his family when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials arrested him because he did not have identification documents. He was recently deported, and the timing of his arrest raises concerns that his deportation is retaliation against Ramirez Palma for reporting safety violations before the hotel collapse and for speaking with the media after the collapse occurred. He and his family had been fishing several times before, always with a valid fishing license, and they report that the October encounter with ICE officials is the first time they were asked for personal identification.

The hotel collapse is under investigation by the New Orleans Police Department and the United States Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). The investigating agencies need information from Ramirez Palma and other workers about what they saw and experienced at the hotel site before the collapse, especially safety violations they may have witnessed. Some of the safety concerns that Ramirez Palma reported to his supervisors include uncured concrete that was too weak to support weight and asymmetry within the structure that could impact its stability. He states that upon voicing his concerns to his supervisors, he was told to continue working. He also says that he was threatened with replacement on the job site.

Workplace safety advocates, immigration advocates, and others urged ICE to delay or stop Ramirez Palma’s deportation, to no avail. Deportation could make Ramirez Palma unavailable to the investigating agencies, possibly depriving them of critical information that could assist them in determining the cause of the deadly collapse. It is also reported that other undocumented workers may have information that could help investigators. They are reluctant to speak about the accident because they fear that they, too, could be deported. Multiple undocumented workers had reported safety concerns while working at the Hard Rock hotel site, and it is crucial that the investigating agencies not lose access to them.

A whistleblower protection attorney is a powerful ally in the face of painful retaliation. If you have experienced retaliation as the result of reporting safety, health, financial, or other concerns, call the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (800) 707-9577 for an initial consultation.

 

Witnessing wrongdoing at work is easy, and it is often unavoidable. You may have nothing to do with the wrong that occurs, but there you are, as it’s happening or after it has happened, when evidence of it is in plain view. You’re in the unenviable position of deciding what to do next. You know that what you see is not right, but you are afraid of losing your job and uncertain what your next step should be because whistleblower policies and laws are confusing. You need help, and a whistleblower protection attorney may be able to help you decide what to do next.

The success or failure of many whistleblower complaints depends upon how the whistleblower goes about reporting the wrongdoing they have witnessed. It’s not an easy task to do it right, because there are different laws that protect public and private employees and protection is often only available to individuals who follow the proper procedures for reporting misconduct. Whether you work for a private company or a government agency or contractor, the very first thing you must do before you blow the whistle is to make sure that you know the procedure for reporting wrongdoing that applies to your situation. If you need help, an attorney may be able to help you understand what a whistleblower policy says about what you must do. If you interpret the policy incorrectly and embark on a course of action that is improper, such as jumping the chain of command, you may jeopardize your ability to claim protection as a whistleblower.

In addition to helping you know how to expose wrongdoing properly, a whistleblower protection attorney may be able to help you obtain protection if you lost your job or suffered retaliation after you refused to participate in an illegal activity. Sometimes you don’t have the opportunity to read and understand your company’s policy or the applicable laws before you do something that causes you to lose your job. Workers are sometimes caught in the difficult position of having to choose between doing their job as they have been asked to do it and breaking one or more laws. For example, a truck driver might be asked to make a trip that would violate the laws that govern work and rest periods for truckers. In that moment the trucker must choose between obeying their boss and breaking the law or obeying the law and almost certainly losing their job. If you decide to follow what the law says and you get fired, meet with a whistleblower protection attorney to assess whether you may be able to prevail in a case against your former employer. You’re not likely to want your job back, but you may be able to recover lost wages and prevent your former employer from sabotaging your future employment seeking efforts.

Those are just two of the many reasons a whistleblower protection attorney is a powerful ally both before and after you blow the whistle or experience retaliation. To learn more about the protections available to whistleblowers, call the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (800) 707-9577 for an initial consultation.

 

 

Whistleblowers are motivated by a desire to do the right thing. Unfortunately, as often happens in many situations where people take care to do the right thing, whistleblowers do not always receive the proper treatment in return. Would-be whistleblowers must be aware that blowing the whistle is a good course of action that may carry harsh consequences, and that protection under whistleblower protection laws is not guaranteed.

There are a variety of whistleblower protection laws that cover diverse populations of employees at a variety of types of organizations. Unfortunately, there are some employees in some organizations whose whistleblowing in specific circumstances or in a particular way is not covered by a whistleblower protection law. Because of this, the collective effect of whistleblower protection laws and policies is like an umbrella with a few holes in it.

A whistleblower protection attorney could be able to help you avoid some of the pitfalls that could exclude you from protection under whistleblower protection laws, but sometimes the damage has already been done before the whistleblower sets foot in the lawyer’s office. For example, a whistleblower who didn’t follow their organization’s policy for reporting misconduct might not be able to obtain protection under the laws that protect whistleblowers. Likewise, if a grievance regarding termination or retaliation is not filed with the proper party within a particular time frame, the person filing the claim may be unable to access protection as a whistleblower. Sometimes, a whistleblower may think they have a choice of several different laws under which they can report misconduct. Unfortunately, choosing to pursue a matter under one law often excludes you from being able to go about it another way. What’s more, if you decide to pursue a matter under an incorrect statute, you could end up without a valid case.

Before you blow the whistle, check yourself to be sure that your attitude and or your actions won’t get you disqualified from protection under whistleblower laws. Good faith is usually a requirement for obtaining protection. If anyone can cast doubt on whether your motivation for exposing the misconduct was anything but pure, you could be without protection. Likewise, if you did anything wrong along the way to exposing the wrongdoing, even something seemingly innocuous like copying documents, your conduct could exclude you from protection as a whistleblower under the doctrine of “unclean hands.”

Another reason that you may be unable to obtain protection under whistleblower laws is that you are unable to connect the retaliation to your whistleblowing or your employer is able to make a persuasive argument that there was some other reason for what you experienced, such a poor job performance.

Legal technicalities, loopholes, and other exclusionary principles are, unfortunately, common in whistleblower cases. A  Mississippi whistleblower protection attorney may be able to assist you in avoiding those pitfalls and prevail in your claim. To learn more about whistleblower laws and whistleblower protection claims, call the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (800) 707-9577 to set up an initial consultation.

 

Whistleblowers bring matters out into the open that would otherwise remain hidden. Sometimes, the things that are exposed by whistleblowers have consequences that are literally a matter of life or death. A recent disclosure by a whistleblower who filed a suit in federal court claims that the largest military shipbuilder in America put American lives at risk when it falsified certifications and test results pertaining to the stealth coatings that it puts on its submarines. The stealth coating is a material that resembles foam rubber, and it is designed to applied to submarine hulls with a two-part adhesive that requires special certification for its use. The reason that certification must be obtained by the companies and workers who apply the adhesive is that the adhesive doesn’t work correctly if it is not mixed properly. When the adhesive is not prepared properly prior to application, the coating can peel off of the hull. It was reported by personnel who operated the affected submarines that large sections of coating had torn off of their vessels while the vessels were on the move.

The complaint accuses Hunter Ingalls Industries of claiming that it had coated the hulls of certain submarines properly when the reality is that the company took shortcuts during the coating application process that compromised the coating’s performance. The coating is designed to enable submarines to elude detection by enemy sonar. When the coating was not applied properly, it created a danger to all of the people on board each of the affected submarines, who were operating as if they could not be detected when in fact their submarines were detectable.

Applying the stealth coating incorrectly was dangerous enough, but the company is alleged to have gone even further in their wrongdoing by certifying to the government that they had applied the coating correctly. That certification was made under a contract  that the company had with the government to manufacture the submarines to meet specific criteria in exchange for payment for the submarines. This is an example of a whistleblower case where the wrongdoing is several layers thick, simultaneously exposing American troops to a heightened risk of harm and violating the federal False Claims Act.

While not all whistleblower cases offer a reward for the person who stepped forward to expose the wrong, this case is a type of whistleblower lawsuit where the party who filed it on behalf of the government could receive compensation if the government collects damages resulting  from the fraud committed against it. Whistleblower lawsuits that contain this type of reward for the whistleblower are called “qui tam” lawsuits.

The whistleblower in this case witnessed the faulty coating application and subsequent false certification during the course of their employment at the shipbuilding company. Many individuals work in jobs where their work and the work of others in their workplace can have an impact on the safety of others and the integrity of contracts. The Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC support whistleblowers in their efforts to protect the health and safety of Americans and to expose fraud. To learn more about whistleblower protection, call 1 (800) 707-9577 to arrange an initial consultation with the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC.

 

 

 

Whistleblowers come from all kinds of positions and professions. From the corporate world to government headquarters, individuals come forth to expose misdeeds. Sometimes, whistleblowers are caught in a position where they have information about wrong actions happening within their workplace or organization, but because of the nature of the wrongdoing, blowing the whistle publicly could compromise national security. This is a delicate position, and anyone in that position must understand that there is a mechanism for blowing the whistle without blowing the cover off of sensitive information.

The Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act (the Act) protects intelligence officials from retaliation after they bring forth concerns about government misconduct. Not only does the Act protect whistleblowers, but it also provides a procedure for blowing the whistle without revealing classified information. If a person follows the process outlined in the Act, they cannot be prosecuted criminally, nor can they be fired.

The way that the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act says intelligence officials must submit their concerns about government misconduct to the Inspector General of the intelligence community. When the Inspector General receives a complaint, they have fourteen days to evaluate it. If the Inspector General determines that the claim describes a matter of urgent concern – a violation of the law, an abuse of power, or other serious problem that relates to an intelligence activity that involves classified information, the complaint must get forwarded to the Director of National Intelligence.

When the Director of National Intelligence receives a complaint, they have a week to forward the complaint and any relevant documents that support it to the intelligence committees in Congress. If an intelligence community whistleblower follows that procedure, their claim should be heard and acknowledged by those who have the power to address the wrongdoing without exposing the classified information associated with it. If the inspector general dismisses a complaint as not credible or, even worse, ignores it entirely, the whistleblower is not without options. They may take their complaint directly to Congress if they first comply with two additional requirements. First, the whistleblower must notify the inspector general of their intent to approach Congress directly with their complaint. Next, they must seek guidance from the Director of National Intelligence about how to approach Congress without revealing classified information. Once those two steps are complete, the whistleblower can contact Congress with their complaint while following the instructions provided to them by the Director of National Intelligence on how to do so in a way that protects classified information.

Whistleblowers often experience retaliation in a variety of ways, including but not limited to threats of prosecution or job loss. Fortunately, would-be whistleblowers within the intelligence community can protect themselves from those threats and keep classified information securely under wraps by following the provisions of the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act. To learn more about whistleblower laws and whistleblower protection claims, call the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (800) 707-9577 to set up an initial consultation.

The courageous actions of whistleblowers at all levels of influence bring things to light that would otherwise remain hidden. Each wrong that a whistleblower exposes can provide an opportunity for businesses or governments to mitigate some of the consequences that could be caused by the wrongdoing, outcomes that have the potential to be widespread and devastating without intervention.

Sometimes, whistleblowers expose threats or concerns to our national security. The House Intelligence Committee just released a declassified document containing a whistleblower complaint against President Trump. The document was released shortly before the director of national intelligence was set to testify regarding that complaint. The complaint, filed by an as yet unidentified whistleblower, alleges that the President of the United States is soliciting interference with the 2020 Presidential election from a foreign country.

In their complaint, the whistleblower claims to have received information from multiple United States officials regarding that solicitation. The information is said to have come to light over the past four months, by more than six officials who conduct official interagency business with the whistleblower. That official business routinely includes the sharing of information that would inform those individuals and equip them to carry out their policymaking duties regarding their areas of responsibility.

The whistleblower speaks to potential concerns about the validity of their complaint by explaining how the pieces of information that were revealed to them were each revealed by multiple sources and corroborate with each other. Some of the information also corroborates with publicly reported information. The whistleblower’s complaint, which they claim they have filed in fulfillment of their duty to report this matter, which they say falls within the definition of an urgent concern as defined by 50 U.S.C. §3033(k)(5)(G). The whistleblower’s complaint also implicates other individuals besides the President in the solicitation efforts, including the President’s personal attorney and the Attorney General of the United States.

Much of the complaint focuses on a July 25th telephone conversation between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the individuals who shared their concerns with the whistleblower, President Trump used the majority of the phone call to advance his personal interests. During the conversation, the President is alleged to have pressured Zelensky to investigate the activities of Joe Biden and his son. He also asked Zelensky to provide information about the Russian interference with the D.N.C.’s computer networks in 2016. Trump also asked the Ukrainian President to meet with individuals that he has selected to serve as his envoys. Approximately a dozen government officials listened to the conversation, which is customary procedure for routine calls with foreign leaders, which is what everyone thought that phone call would be.

The content of the President’s July 25th telephone call with Volodymyr Zelensky is just one concern raised by the whistleblower complaint. There are also concerns about the actions of officials in the White House following that conversation. We will explore those concerns in a separate article.

The integrity of the election process in the United States has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. National security is also at risk when the election process is tampered with by foreign countries. The Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC support whistleblowers in their efforts to maintain our nation’s integrity and keep America safe. To learn more about whistleblower protection, call 1 (800) 707-9577 to arrange an initial consultation with the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC.