Federal Air Marshal whistleblower Robert MacLean won an important victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit late last month allowing him to continue with his case alleging illegal retaliation in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act (“WPA”).  The WPA protects government employees from retaliation because of “any disclosure of information by [...]

The Occupational Safety  and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently awarded a railroad signalman over $38,000 in damages after determining that his employer, the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp. (better known as “Metra”), illegally retaliated against him for making a safety complaint.  In addition, Metra has been ordered by OSHA [...]

Medicare fraud whistleblowers received some good news this week when Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius published a proposed rule to the Federal Register which would revise Medicare’s Incentive Reward Program provisions dramatically, increasing the maximum reward for whistleblowers from $1,000 to just under $10 million.   Specifically, the proposed rule seeks to reward [...]

The False Claims Act (“FCA”), originally passed in 1863 to incentivize citizens to report dishonest contractors who engaged in fraud against the Union during the Civil War, allows whistleblowers to bring lawsuits on behalf of the U.S. government against companies and individuals who have defrauded the government. Suits under the FCA and similar laws in [...]

In Bailey v. Consolidated Rail Corporation, the Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) upheld an order of reinstatement by the administrative law judge (“ALJ”) who heard the case.  The Board found that Consolidated Rail Corporation (“Conrail”) had failed to demonstrate anything “exceptional” about this case which would lead to overturn its [...]

Mine safety whistleblowers reported retaliation at a rate far greater than any past year, according to statistics compiled by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”).  The agency reported 46 requests for temporary reinstatement during the 2012 calendar year, more than double any previous year.  The requests were [...]

Charles Howard, a coal miner and whistleblower who alleged that he was retaliated against in response to repeated complaints he made regarding the safety practices of his employer, Cumberland River Coal Company (“CRCC”), had his reinstatement to his job at CRCC affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Thursday, April [...]

Government employee whistleblowers are awaiting a potentially major decision in the case of Berry v. Conyers, prompting the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (“OSC”) to file an amicus curiae brief for consideration by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the case.  According to an OSC press release, the case concerns two [...]

A government contractor who was terminated after blowing the whistle on his company, Shaw Environment and Infrastructure Inc. (“Shaw”), for overcharging the government for work at military installations secured a jury verdict of $3.4 million last week.  According to Law360, the whistleblower, Paul Blakeslee, discovered that an employee at Shaw had created a private leasing [...]

Railroad whistleblowers who are retaliated against for reporting work-related injuries continue to be awarded significant damages from their former employers after filing complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the Department of Labor.  On March 12, 2013, OSHA announced it had once again ordered Union Pacific Railroad Co. – a company whose [...]