Whistleblowing in Medicare Fraud Cases

When an employee reports the illegal conduct of their employer, they become a whistleblower. Whistleblowers have exposed corporate practices that were not only unethical but actually, put people’s lives at risk. Even when a company is committing acts that are clearly wrongful, employees who discover that their employers are committing crimes are faced with difficult decisions. One issue they likely face is the possibility of suffering from retaliation, such as being terminated, if they decide to expose the illegal conduct.

However, it is often the case that only an employee would be in the position to learn the information necessary to report their employer’s wrongful actions. Whistleblower protection laws help to encourage people to speak up when employers commit illegal acts and to discourage employers from retaliating against employees who choose to do the right thing. One area where whistleblowers are extremely important is in the healthcare industry, where programs such as Medicare are frequently defrauded.

Medicare fraud

Medical facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes sometimes overbill Medicare. As it turns out, Medicare fraud accounts for around 10% of the total payments made by Medicare. In dollars, this means that the Medicare program if fraudulently billed tens of billions of dollars a year.

Medicare fraud often includes scenarios where medical facilities bill for services or equipment that they did not provide, or bill for a more expensive treatment than was actually given to the patient. There are some situations where patients covered by Medicare take part in the fraudulent acts, permitting the provider to use their Medicare number to bill for procedures or services that they did not actually require.

Because Medicare is designed to pay doctors quickly and therefore encourage them to see patients who are on Medicare, the program automatically pays out for claims that are filed, making fraud detection difficult. This has made Medicare particularly vulnerable to fraud.

The staggering costs that result from Medicare fraud are highly disturbing. But fortunately, some employees of medical facilities make the brave decision to speak out thereby exposing their employers’ illegal actions.

What protections exist for an employee who reports Medicare fraud?

In many cases, healthcare providers and other people working for medical facilities are the people best positioned to discover fraudulent billing practices. Of course, these people’s jobs might be threatened by their willingness to come forward and report the fraud.

In order to discourage Medicare fraud, perpetrators are subjected to heavy fines for their actions. Whistleblowers are awarded a portion of the fine paid by the violating facility, as well as a portion of the money recovered. This can lead to high reward payouts to whistleblowers. Additionally, though, retaliation against a whistleblower in a Medicare fraud claim is prohibited by law.

If you believe that your employer is committing Medicare fraud, you should speak with an experienced attorney. In some cases, it is possible to receive an award and have your job protected when you decide to do the right thing and report Medicare fraud.   For further information, contact the seasoned Mississippi Qui Tam Attorney at Barrett Law, PLLC today.

 

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How are Whistleblowers Protected Under the Law?

Whether a company is illegally dumping toxic substances into the waterways, or a hospital is billing Medicare for services that were never provided, wrongdoings by corporations and other entities can have far-reaching consequences. Oftentimes, the only way that violations are exposed is through people who work for the company that is committing the wrongful acts. This can be a complicated situation though, since the people who must come forward are typically employees of the wrongdoing companies. The decision to report an employer’s criminal actions can be frightening when a person believes that doing the right thing could cause them to lose their job.

Fortunately, there are several laws that protect whistleblowers from retaliation. In some cases, whistleblowers are not only protected, but can actually be rewarded for their brave decision to come forward. Determining which laws apply in which circumstances can be difficult though, so if you find yourself in the position of reporting your employer’s illegal conduct, speak with an employment law attorney to learn your rights and what sort of protections that law provides for you.

State laws

Most states have enacted some form of whistleblower protection. In Mississippi, the whistleblower protection law only applies to public employees. This law makes it illegal to retaliate against an employee if that employee provides information regarding an agency’s violation, or testifies to an investigative body about a violation. If an employee is terminated because of their role in an investigation, then that employee can file a civil lawsuit and be reinstated in their position, and get back pay that was lost.

Federal Statutes that contain whistleblower protection provisions

While Mississippi’s state law does nothing to protect whistleblowers employed by private corporations, there are federal laws that apply in many circumstances. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) oversees twenty-two statutes that contain whistleblower protections provisions. This means that an employee who reports that their employer is violating one of these statutes will be protected from retaliation from their employer. The statutes overseen by OSHA include laws intended to protect the environment and nuclear safety, such as the Clean Air Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act, laws impact in the transportation industry, like the Federal Railroad Safety Act, and laws designed to protect consumers and investors, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

Each of these laws includes a provision stating that employees who report that their employer was in violation of the statute are protected from termination or other retaliatory acts. There are various time limits in place in the statutes that determine how long an employee has to file a claim that their employer retaliated against them.

The Whistleblower Protection Act protects federal employees from retaliation if they report a violation of a statute, rule or regulation, a gross waste of funds, gross mismanagement, the abuse of authority, or a “substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.”

The False Claims Act contains a robust whistleblower protection provision. This law protects whistleblowers who report fraudulent acts that are committed against the federal government. This can include reporting the use of false claims to obtain payment from the government, fraudulent actions taken to avoid or reduce payments owed to the federal government.

Given the complexity of whistleblower protections laws, it is important to consult with an experienced employment law attorney in order to protect yourself and your rights.  Contact the seasoned Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorney at Barrett Law, PLLC today by calling (601) 790-1505 or visiting us online.

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Whistleblowing: Reporting Employer Wrongdoing

Deciding to report a wrongdoing committed by your employer can be intimidating. Many employees fear what will happen to them if they speak out, exposing the wrongful or illegal actions that are being taken by their coworkers, supervisors, and other personnel. Of course, if employees fear retaliation from their employers, they will be less likely to take the steps necessary to end the wrongful acts, or to report the employer to the entities that can hold the violating persons accountable.

In order to prevent a culture of silence, most states have some form of whistleblower protection law. These laws make it illegal for employers to take negative actions against an employee for reporting some violation of law or ethics that was committed by the employer.

Who is covered by Mississippi’s whistleblower laws?

Mississippi has a statute that prevents public employees from being retaliated against when they file a complaint with the state or participate in a public investigation of their employer. The law also provides protection for employees if they report or testify in a proceeding related to the Mississippi Vulnerable Adults Act (MVAA).

What if I am not a public employee?

Mississippi’s statute is limited in scope to public employees and violations of the MVAA. However, an employee of a private company might be protected in other ways. Under the common law of Mississippi, it is unlawful to discharge an employee for reasons that violate public policy. As a result, it is illegal to terminate employees for retaliatory reasons if the employee refused to take part in illegal activities on behalf of the employer, or if the employee reported the criminal acts of the employer.

There are also federal laws that provide protection in some situations. For example, under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, it is illegal to retaliate against a whistleblower in cases involving securities or shareholder fraud. Employees of private companies are also shielded from retaliation for exposing their companies for defrauding the government.

When should I report my employer?

If you believe you have witnessed your employer engaging in illegal activities, or violating a company policy, you should first try to understand whether you might have misunderstood what you heard or witnessed. For instance, if your boss told you to do something that you know would be a violation, be sure that you correctly understood what you were told to do. If you believe that the orders were very clear, and definitely would constitute a violation, you may still want to question your boss or politely point out the violation that you would be committing. In some scenarios, it is possible that your boss simply did not realize that the act that they instructed you to take was not permitted.

If you are sure that you were intentionally told to do something unethical or illegal and do not believe there would be any point in discussing the situation with your boss, consider speaking with someone above your boss, or someone whose role at the company involves ethics regulations. This will likely not be appreciated by your boss, so it is good to be fairly sure that you have ruled out a misunderstanding before this point.

Reporting an employer’s legal violation can be intimidating and unnerving. If you find yourself in this position, it is a good idea to speak to an experienced employment law attorney in order to understand your rights and learn what sorts of legal protections would apply in your case.  For further information, contact the seasoned Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorney today at Barrett Law, PLLC.

 

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Mississippi Whistleblower Attorney Says Employer Conduct Can be Confusing

When you are a whistleblower, and you expose your employer for placing you in a position that you are not qualified for, it would make sense if your employer wanted to find you a different position. However, what would you think if your employer placed you in a different position for which you were just as unqualified as you were for the first job that they gave you? That certainly would be confusing, yet this appears to be what happened to a whistleblower who revealed that he didn’t meet the standards outlined in Navy regulations for the position that his manager placed him in at an aircraft maintenance facility.

When the man worked at the Fleet Readiness Center (FRC-East), his job was to administratively release aircraft for flight and make sure that all required inspections and maintenance got completed. When he made it known to the public that he was expected to do work that, according to Navy regulations, he was unqualified to do, he experienced difficulty and reprisal. The man worked with his attorney to pursue legal action intended to mitigate threats of future reprisals, and his employer offered him a new aeronautical engineering technician position. The man took the job and hoped that his concerns would fade into the background as he started in his new role as a metrology-engineering technician.

Unfortunately, the man found out that he is just as unqualified for his new position as he was for his previous position. The work of a metrology-engineering technician involves calibrating highly technical equipment, and he falls short of the standards outlined in Navy regulations for qualifications for that job. For example, he should hold a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering or physical science. He should also have completed a four-year metrology calibration apprentice training program, or he should have the equivalent skills that those programs would provide. In addition to those things, he should have four years of experience and extensive knowledge of the aircraft and their various systems as well as the methods for calibrating those systems, among other things. Just reading the list of qualifications for that position is enough to make a non-technical person’s head spin, and even for someone who has an engineering background, it is an intimidating list. However, when you consider the nature of what the person who does that job is doing, calibrating highly sensitive and very technical equipment on military aircraft, it is easy to see just how little room for error is in the work that the metrology-engineering technician performs. Simply stated, it is a violation of Navy regulations to employ that man in the position of a metrology-engineering technician. He does not have the educational background, training, or experience to meet the requirements outlined in the regulations.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Providing Support for Mississippi Whistleblowers

Whistleblowers can experience retaliation in a variety of ways, including reassignment to less desirable or otherwise inappropriate work. This type of retaliation is subtler than some of the other forms of retaliation, so many people might not even realize that it is happening. To learn more about whistleblower protection claims, call the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (601) 790-1505 for an initial consultation.

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Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys Say Whistleblowers Sometimes Reveal Safety Risks

The good that can come from whistleblowers doing what they do can come in many forms. Sometimes, the information that whistleblowers bring out into the open brings awareness to safety risks, some of which could be life-threatening if they are allowed to persist. One such situation happened recently when a whistleblower exposed fuel risks that could endanger the lives of Navy pilots and other people.

The whistleblower, Glenn Schwartz, was a civilian aeronautical engineering technician. Schwartz got fired recently but not before he exposed the fuel safety risks and other serious hazards. He said that his managers placed him in a position that he was underqualified for, and that they attempted to qualify him by providing on the job training that could not adequately prepare him with the training and knowledge that he needed to safely perform the highly technical work that he was performing in his job. Schwartz’s job was calibrating equipment that gets used to test weapons systems and aircraft support equipment, which is certainly not a job that just anybody can do.

Not only is Schwartz unqualified, his placement in the position that he got placed in violated Navy regulations that specify in detail the credentials that are required to get qualified for certain positions. Unfortunately, Schwartz wasn’t the only individual who got placed in a position that they were unqualified to fill. There are others at the Fleet Readiness Center- East and the Metrology and Calibration Laboratory who lack the training, experience, and education that they need to perform their work properly. When you consider the work that gets done at these facilities – maintaining Navy aircraft and testing weapons systems, it is easy to see the safety risks posed by unqualified workers performing jobs that they do not know how to do properly. Those safety risks are the reason that the Navy has detailed regulations regarding qualifications for positions, and Schwartz played a significant role in exposing his employer’s violations of those rules.

The United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is investigating Schwartz’s firing, as it was possibly an act of retaliation against him. He got fired in early June, and his attorney says that the reasons cited for his dismissal, which is mostly related to attendance procedures, are things that would not usually get cited as a reason for dismissing someone. That assertion would support a conclusion that Schwartz’s firing was retaliatory, but it is important to note that the OSC’s investigation into the matter is not yet complete.

The Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC support whistleblowers in their efforts to keep people safe and expose dishonesty, misconduct, and even violations of the law. The consequences of exposing wrongdoing in your workplace can be harsh, but your actions could make a significant and potentially life-saving difference in the lives of others, as Mr. Schwartz’s situation illustrates. If you want to learn more about whistleblower claims, call 1 (601) 790-1505 to arrange an initial consultation with the Mississippi Whistleblower attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC.

 

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Mississippi Whistleblower Attorney Says Safety Risks Could Remain Hidden Absent Whistleblower Efforts

A recent Marine Corps aviation accident is raising questions about the safety of our nation’s military aircraft. A KC-130 crashed in rural Mississippi, killing sixteen people. Debris from the accident scattered over a wide area and people want to know what happened. Airplanes can crash for so many different reasons that thorough investigation is the only way to find out what happened. No information about the cause of the tragic accident was released, but we do know that the aircraft that crashed had departed from the Marine Corps Station in Cherry Point, which is in the same location as Fleet Readiness Center – East. Fleet Readiness Center – East is a Navy aircraft maintenance facility that made the news when a whistleblower revealed that he and others got placed in positions that required them to perform work that they were not qualified to do.

At an Air Force base in Arizona, an Air Force Fighter Unit got temporarily grounded due to problems with the oxygen systems on their planes. Some pilots reported that they developed oxygen deprivation symptoms during their flights. Fortunately, backup oxygen systems engaged in each case, but not before the pilots experienced a lack of oxygen, which indicates that there is a safety risk. Navy officials have also noted an increase in the number of reports of physical problems caused by oxygen contamination or unscheduled cabin pressure changes that are being experienced by their pilots.

The problems with the Air Force and Navy aircraft could get caused by the age of the planes or by improper maintenance. It is also possible that both factors are causing the pilots to experience those issues. Regardless of the exact cause of the issues, it is troubling that these problems are happening at a time when there is a concern over whether managers at military aircraft maintenance facilities are disregarding qualification requirements when selecting candidates for highly technical positions. It is possible that the work of unskilled employees is contributing to the overall risk involved in flying military aircraft because aircraft servicing and maintenance requires a high degree of skill, knowledge, and precision. It is possible that absent the disclosure of a whistleblower regarding his lack of skills and qualifications for the position that he got placed in, even more unqualified individuals than are already employed in highly technical positions could have gotten placed in similar positions where their lack of ability could put the safety of others at risk.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Standing up for Mississippi Whistleblowers

If you have exposed violations of the law or other rules in your workplace, you might experience retaliation in the form of intimidation, humiliation, bullying, harassment, or even job loss. Fortunately, if you have experienced any of those kinds of retaliation, you might be able to file a claim for damages under the whistleblower protection laws.  To learn more, call the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorney of Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (601) 790-1505 for an initial consultation.

 

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Mississippi Whistleblower Attorney Reports on VA Director’s Dismissal

Most of us think that Fast and Furious is a series of action-packed movies full of danger, drama, and fast cars. There’s another Fast and Furious out there, though, and most people had no idea it was happening until federal agent John Dodson exposed the secret federal case that enabled thousands of weapons to get across the Mexican border and get into the hands of Mexico’s powerful drug cartels.

Dodson initially spoke about the Fast and Furious operation in an interview, saying that he was told to stand by and watch as guns crossed the border from the United States into Mexico, even though he understood his job to be to prevent illegal firearms trafficking to Mexican drug cartels. Dodson objected to the practice but was ordered to keep doing what he had been asked to do. Federal agents not only matched the guns come and go, but they also tracked their use in criminal activity on either side of the border. The goal was supposed to find out where all of the guns were going and then use that information to take down the cartels in dramatic fashion. That part never happened.

Unfortunately, one of the guns was used in the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, in 2010. When Agent Terry got killed, the agency worked hard to cover up the link between the weapon used to kill Terry and the strategy that they had been using in the border region. The United States Department of Justice even wrote a letter denying that there was any connection between Agent Terry’s death and the Fast and Furious case. Terry’s death was one of approximately forty-three known deaths associated with weapons trafficked during the Fast and Furious case and other secret operations.

Six years after Dodson initially exposed the scheme in an interview, he says that he has become an enemy of the state. He’s been transferred through eleven different assignments within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) where he worked before the Fast and Furious operation and continues to work today. Dodson says that he has experienced marginalization and retaliation, in addition to the constant upheaval caused by the frequent transfers.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Providing Solid Defense Strategies for Mississippi Whistleblowers

Whistleblowers often experience retaliation in a variety of ways, including reassignment, harassment, humiliation, and threats of harm. Some forms of retaliation are subtler than others are, and sometimes it can take a while for an employee to realize that a pattern is emerging within their workplace environment that does not feel right. For that very reason, it is absolutely imperative that you talk with a whistleblower attorney about your experience so that you can pursue a claim for damages if the things that you have experienced do indeed add up to retaliation. To learn more about whistleblower laws and whistleblower protection claims, call the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (601) 790-1505 to set up an initial consultation.

 

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Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys Say Increased Protection for Whistleblowers is Part of Recently Enacted VA Reform Act

Last month, the Senate took an important step in the direction of reforming the badly broken system that provides essential services to our nation’s veterans. The “Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act” contains a variety of provisions aimed at improving the Veterans’ Affairs system, including increased protection for whistleblowers within the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The recent rash of VA whistleblower cases is evidence of a culture of retaliation towards whistleblowers within the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, hence, the increased protection that the Act aims to provide is essential at this time.

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs provides health care and other services to those who serve our nation. Over the years, the system by which those benefits get provided has become severely broken in some ways due to mismanagement and other problems within the agency with the result being poor service to our veterans. Congress has tried to make some improvements in years past, and progress has been made, but it is slow and more changes are needed. In 2014, Congress enacted the “Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act” which gave the VA Secretary the authority to quickly and easily remove underperforming senior executives. That Act also required the VA to incorporate disciplinary action into its human resources policies in instances of misconduct involving falsification of patient care data.

The “Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act” builds on prior improvements by giving the VA Secretary more flexibility in how they can discipline or remove employees who are not delivering quality care or upholding the department’s best practices. As noted before, retaliation against whistleblowers is a major problem within the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The new Act will strengthen existing measures which protect whistleblowers from retaliation for reporting problems, in the spirit of promoting a culture of accountability within the Department.

The “Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act” got signed by President Trump on June 23.  It is expected to deliver, as it promises, much-needed change within the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Many people are pleased that this legislation passed, as support for the legislation by outside groups was enthusiastic throughout the legislative process.  For example, the legislative director of the organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America stated that they think the Act is “the strongest VA accountability measure that can be signed into law.”

The Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC appreciate the efforts of the legislators who worked to draft, promote, and pass “Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act.” Whistleblowers within the Department of Veterans Affairs need all of the support that they can get, given the organization’s current culture of retaliation as evidenced by the numerous whistleblower cases that have been filed by VA whistleblowers. Hopefully, the new legislation will encourage whistleblowers to continue to come forward when they witness wrongdoing within the VA. If you have questions about whistleblower protection claims, call 1 (601) 790-1505 to set up a consultation with the Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC.

 

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Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys Remind You That Whistleblowers Matter

The risks that whistleblower take are enormous. They risk the jobs that give them the financial resources that they need to support themselves and their families; they risk their personal and professional reputations that they have worked so hard to build. They take the risk that they will be unable to find a job within the profession that they enjoy. They know that there is likely to be retaliation against them, cruel mistreatment both on the job and off. They risk humiliation, isolation, and getting reassigned to do mindless busywork, often out of sight of their co-workers. They risk all of these things because they feel compelled to stand up for what is right.

While whistleblowers often suffer much after they make after they disclose wrongdoing, that suffering sometimes bears much fruit. Wrongdoing exposed by whistleblowers can lead to investigations that reveal violations of the law. Companies and organizations that have been breaking the rules get held accountable for their actions. Improper business practices get brought to a halt. Individuals and organizations get required to pay back what they wrongfully acquired. The wrongs that the whistleblowers seek to expose do sometimes get made right as the eventual result of their actions.  The following story is an example of what can happen after a person speaks out to expose wrongdoing that they see in their work.

In 2005, Kamal Mustafa Al-Sultan, the general manager of a contracting firm that partnered with Agility Public Warehousing (Agility), a Kuwaiti logistics company, filed a civil whistleblower claim regarding Agility’s dealings in its contracts with the United States government. Agility was contracting with the government to provide food for American troops who were serving in Jordan, Kuwait, and Iraq.

The whistleblower claim alleged that Agility Public Warehousing dealt fraudulently with the United States government, manipulating funding formulas, providing false statements and invoices, inflating food prices, and failing to pass along the discounts and rebates that it received from vendors even though passing along those savings was required by the terms of Agility’s contract with the government.

After that whistleblower claim got filed, the United States Department of Justice investigated Agility’s dealings with the government. The investigation revealed that Agility, through its fraudulent actions, had defrauded the United States government of nearly seventy million dollars. The Department of Justice confronted Agility with its allegations. Agility recently agreed to pay ninety-five million dollars to resolve the allegations of fraud that the Department of Justice brought against it. In conjunction with the settlement, Agility entered a guilty plea to the misdemeanor offense of theft of government funds.

The Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC applaud the efforts of whistleblowers. It is not easy to expose wrongdoing within your workplace because the consequences can be harsh. However, your actions can make a huge difference as the case above illustrates. To learn more about whistleblower claims, call.1 (601) 790-1505 to arrange an initial consultation with the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC.

 

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Mississippi Whistleblower Attorney Discusses Retaliation Against Chicago Police Detective

Whistleblower retaliation can occur in any workplace when a whistleblower’s disclosure of inappropriate conduct within the workplace threatens “business as usual.”  Many times, whistleblowers feel like they must disclose improper activity because doing so is part of their job. That is what happened to Beth Svec, a detective for the Chicago Police Department.

In 2015, Svec was selected to participate in a pilot program where detectives conducted follow-up investigations in cases where there was an arrest for unlawful possession of guns. The follow-up investigations were a part of Svec’s job when she was assigned to investigate a case in which two officers arrested two men. As part of the investigation, Beth Svec talked with the two officers, who told her a version of the events of the arrest that matched what they had written in their police reports regarding the incident. The remainder of the investigation involved Svec interviewing the two men who got arrested, as well as talking with eyewitnesses and watching video footage.

When Svec conducted those parts of her follow-up investigation, the accounts of the two men, the remarks from the eyewitnesses, and the video footage all told a story that agreed with each other but not with the accounts of the officers or their police reports. Since there was a discrepancy between the two stories, Svec told the officers about it.

The officers immediately told their supervisors about what had happened, and Svec told her supervisors about it as well. There was a disagreement over whether the two men should be charged with felonies. Svec spoke with the state’s attorney’s office, which chose not to charge the men with felonies. The State’s Attorney’s Office contacted the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs which started an investigation into the matter.  The city’s Independent Police Review Authority is also investigating the case, as is the United States Department of Justice.

After all of that, Svec got informed that she was no longer part of the gun crime case investigation project and that she was getting transferred to another district. Her work schedule even got changed so that she was only working midnight shifts. Beth Svec considers these actions forms of retaliation because she has been stripped of some of her duties, reassigned, and given shifts that are less desirable than the schedule that she was working previously. She has filed a whistleblower protection claim seeking compensation as well as reinstatement to her previous assignment.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Providing a Strong Defense for Mississippi Whistleblowers

Whistleblowers like the detective whose case is discussed above can experience retaliation in a variety of ways. Sometimes, retaliation takes the form of in-your-face bullying or harassment. At other times, there may be threats of violence, threats of humiliation, or threats of some other harm. In Beth Svec’s case, the retaliation was more subtle – barring her from participating in a special project, reassigning her to a different district, and changing her work schedule. This is subtler than some of the other forms of retaliation, but it is possible that those things are also retaliatory actions. If you think that you might have experienced retaliation, you might be able to file a claim for damages. To learn more about whistleblower protection claims, call the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (601) 790-1505 for an initial consultation.

 

 

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