A number of different remedies are available under the Whistleblower Protection Act. For example, you can be awarded backpay, which is the difference in salary that you would have been paid had you, for example, been promoted to a higher position as compared to what you are actually paid. You can also be awarded emotional distress damages for emotional harm that you suffered as a result of the employer’s retaliation against you.
Other types of damages include attorney’s fees. If you have to hire an attorney to represent you during this process, the Whistleblower Protection Act provides that the agency may have to pay those fees on your behalf. You also may be entitled to equitable relief. Let’s say you were fired from your agency, under the Whistleblower Protection Act you can actually be reinstated to your job.
Finally one of the most unique portions of the Whistleblower Protection Act is that the Office of Special Counsel can actually seek to discipline the managers who retaliated against you, which is a very unique form of remedy under federal anti-discrimination and retaliation laws.
What disclosures are protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act?
Are disclosures to an Inspector General protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act?
How does a whistleblower prove knowledge of protected whistleblowing?
What is the causation standard in a Whistleblower Protection Act case?
What is a personnel action under the Whistleblower Protection Act?
How can a federal employee whistleblower seek relief for whistleblower retaliation?
Whistleblower attorneys Eric Bachman and Jason Zuckerman, former senior officials at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, have released a guide for federal employee whistleblowers titled The Whistleblower Protection Act: Empowering Federal Employees to Root Out Waste, Fraud and Abuse and is available for download by clicking here.
Drawing on their experience enforcing the WPA at OSC and representing whistleblowers in private practice, the guide provides an overview of the WPA and offers practical tips for navigating some of the challenging issues that often arise in whistleblower cases. Topics covered include:
The firm has represented whistleblowers testifying before the House Financial Services Committee and vigorously opposed efforts to silence whistleblowers. The whistleblower protection lawyers at Zuckerman Law have also helped federal employees combat unlawful gag provisions in agency policies or agreements.
