A recent decision by a federal appeals court expands protections for whistleblowers and could put companies that retaliate against them in violation of laws that usually apply only to mobsters.
The Seventh Circuit Court ruled in December that a company that retaliates against an employee for reporting corporate fraud to law enforcement may face liability under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Originally enacted in 1970 to weed organized crime out of legitimate business affairs, RICO prohibits employees of a company engaged in interstate commerce to “conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise's affairs through ...