Whistleblower Protection Act
The major goal of the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) of 1989 was to encourage private-sector employees to report the misconduct of a manager or other top executives. The WPA protects private sector whistleblowers against manager retaliations in the form of demotions, pay cuts, or termination. Under this statute, any disclosure of information will be protected if there is sufficient ground to justify that the whistleblower had a ‘reasonable belief’ that the information was true (Whitaker, 2007). A major component of this law is that whistleblowers are required to present sufficient evidences (documents and other) to justify their claims while reporting misconduct. If it is proved that whistleblowers are making false claim for entertaining their or some other’s personal interests, they will be found guilty of criminal charges.
Key Elements of the Law
In order to obtain protection under WPA (in the given case), Luke Sheldon has to prove that he has a reasonable belief for filing a dispute. It is obvious that dumping toxic waste into the river is illegal and punishable under U.S law. Though this is case, Sheldon will be required to present necessary information and documents to back his claims once he blows the whistle. If he fails to prove that his claim was true, then Sheldon will be found guilty of criminal charges. Hence, Sheldon has to make sure that he has sufficient evidences to back his claims before filing a dispute.
Applicability of False Claims Act
The False Claims Act, which was enacted to prosecute persons and companies that defraud governmental programs. This Act imposes liability on any person or company that fraudulently avoids payment to or receives payment from the Federal government (cited in Todd, 2011, p.28). The False Claims Act has seven provisions by which a person or company would develop liability towards the government. Sheldon can benefit from one of the provisions of this Act –itprohibits “knowingly making, using, or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim” (Ravina, 2012, p.358).
Legal and Ethical Implications
The given scenario has serious legal and ethical implications for the company under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Referring to Hansen (n.d.), the SOX mandates environmental liability disclosure, and therefore, the company will be required to explain its waste management activities. In order to escape from the hands of law, the company would be compelled to conceal its mishandling of toxic waste thus leading to inappropriate disclosure of environmental liability. Once the firm’s illegal waste disposal activity is caught, it has to face legal actions including huge fines. In addition, such a situation would adversely affect shareholder values, and the company’s corporate morality would be questioned.
Recommendations
References
GAP. (2015). Air Marshal Whistleblower Wins 7-2 Supreme Court Victory. Retrieved from https://www.whistleblower.org/press/air-marshal-whistleblower-wins-7-2-supreme-court-victory
Hansen, M. D. (The Sarbanes-OxleyAct & Safety. ASSE. Retrieved from http://www.asse.org/assets/1/7/Mark_Hansen_Article.pdf
Kohn, S. M. (Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Legal Protection for Corporate Whistleblowers. NWC. Retrieved from http://www.whistleblowers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27
Ravina, B. (2012). Clinical Trials in Neurology: Design, Conduct, Analysis. US: Cambridge University Press.
Todd, M. K. (2011). The Physician Employment Contract Handbook, Second Edition:: A Guide to Structuring Equitable Arrangements. US: CRC Press.
Whitaker, L. P. (2007). The Whistleblower Protection Act: An Overview. CRS Report for Congress. Order Code RL33918. Retrieved from https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33918.pdf
