Whistleblower claims can present substantial risk to a business. Generally, whistleblower protection laws are designed to protect those who report misconduct that implicates some matter of societal interest. The various state and federal whistleblower protection laws cover a wide range of subjects, literally from “a” (airline safety) to “z” (zoo animal abuse). In the corporate environment, Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act protects from reprisal individuals who report fraud that affects shareholders; any party that retaliates against a whistleblower can face significant sanctions.
