Whistleblowing has numerous well-documented benefits, including bringing businesses to justice when they endanger workers and consumers, along with saving lives.
Because of this, plenty of national organizations such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) support whistleblowing on a large scale.
What is whistleblowing?
The United States Department of Transportation discusses the view on whistleblowing. Whistleblowing programs exist through things like the NHTSA, which help the workforce protect themselves and consumers from malignant behaviors.
Whistleblowers can utilize these programs to get into contact with the appropriate government authority figures to report any instances of corner-cutting in order to unsafely maximize profit. This also goes for any cuts or changes made to a business that put the employees at risk.
Protections provided to whistleblowers
One of the most prominent aspects of these programs is the protection that they offer to whistleblowers. Needless to say, when blowing the whistle on a large or potentially powerful company, it can feel like a lot of risk. Even with less powerful companies, a worker may feel like they could easily lose their job for blowing the whistle.
Fortunately, these programs offer protection from such unlawful actions. These programs first offer the protection of a whistleblower’s identity, allowing for them to remain anonymous if they so choose.
In the event that a person decides to go public or their information accidentally gets leaked, they still have protections under labor laws. Thus, whistleblowers can provide the helpful information and data without worrying too greatly about the impact that it might have on their job and overall life situation.