The majority of states have enacted laws that protect whistleblowers from retaliation in the same manner as federal laws. As noted by the National Whistleblower Center, if you file a False Claims Act or qui tam suit against an employer, you may receive protection from retaliation based on the federal or state law you filed under.
If you have evidence of fraud against a government agency, you may file a qui tam suit. When you act as a whistleblower, the FCA laws may provide a reward based on a percentage of the funds recovered.
What types of remedies do FCA laws provide whistleblowers?
Should you discover wrongdoing at work, you may have concerns over employer retaliation. FCA laws, however, could provide remedies to “make the employee whole again.” The legal expression refers to remedying the situation if a whistleblower suffers any harm related to an employer’s unlawful acts.
If your employer fired you for acting as a whistleblower, you may receive the back pay lost as a result. In some cases, the amount could reflect more than what you would have earned. FCA laws also protect you from harassment, demotion or other forms of discrimination.
What types of FCA issues appear in the health care field?
As noted by the FBI, fraud within the health care industry causes financial losses in the tens of billions each year. Health care fraud may include submitting additional invoices for the same service, bogus marketing or billing for a procedure a patient never received.
As described by HCA Healthcare, a nationwide provider system, some states created their own FCA laws to address health care fraud within their Medicaid programs. The Michigan Medicaid False Claims Act, for example, resembles the federal FCA law. MMFCA remedies for retaliation may include job reinstatement, double the amount of back pay lost and special damages compensation.