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"Whistle-blower" protection statutes only purport to protect those who make a report to a regulatory or law enforcement authority. Companies 'encourage' employees to raise such issues internally first ("so we have an opportunity to correct any problems") but typically take such internal boat-rocking as a way of preemptively getting rid of a messenger. At that point, the so-called "whistle-blower" protection statutes are useless and any legal action must attempt to show "wrongful termination" to the degree such grounds exist in the state - and states vary tremendously in such cases. The (former) employer will have created a file on the employee, painted them as a performance problem, and wave the "employment at will" flag. The burden of proof becomes greater for the (former) employee ... usually at the same time they're seeking employment. Good fucking luck.
Would I do it again? Yes. I have to live with myself, no matter how I might otherwise live, or with whomever else.
My STRONG suggestions to any employee ...
(1) Keep a Job Journal! Buy your OWN spiral notebook and diligently write down everything of note that happens daily, including conversations and assignments. Keep it with you. Keep it up-to-date. Contemporaneous notes are persuasive evidence and the corporate attorneys KNOW this.
(2) Your first job, every day, every week, every year, is finding your NEXT job. Network and never burn bridges. Keep a Rolodex and cultivate interpersonal relationships. Send Christmas/Holiday cards! Call and chat. Keep contacts! Nurture them. Make sure you're "being the change you wish to see in the world" and smooth the way to employment for any of these people you can. Be a reference. Cast your employment bread on the waters.
(3) Keep a Pearl Harbor File - copies of memos, records, reports, etc. that betray business wrong-doing, even if you don't report it. Keep that file at home in a safe place. (They DO burglarize homes to get such things.)
(4) Don't fully trust anyone. That 'friendly' co-worker or 'understanding' manager is quite possibly obtaining information to be used against you, or information to prepare the comapny to protect itself. When you use them as referneces, they might bad-mouth you in ways that blow your mind - with lies and deceit. (That's EXACTLY what happened to me.)
(5) If you litigate, go for the maximum. Don't try to be "fair" or "reasonable." You have no idea how much further damage you'll have done to you.
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