New York Expands Healthcare Worker Whistleblower Protections

On June 17, 2020, Governor Cuomo signed into law an amendment to the New York healthcare whistleblower law to create a new protected category, “improper quality of workplace safety,” and to expand protected channels to include news and social media outlets for reporting violations of improper quality of patient care or workplace safety. Under the new amendment, healthcare employers cannot take retaliatory action because an employee complains to the press or on social media about workplace conditions that significantly threaten employee health.

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FCA Retaliation Claim Not Subject to Employment Agreement Arbitration Clause, According to Sixth Circuit

Relators alleging a retaliation claim under the False Claims Act scored a big win in the recent Sixth Circuit decision United States ex rel. Paige v. BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services, Inc., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 9676 (6th Cir. May 22, 2014), which held that a False Claims Act retaliation claim was not subject to an employment agreement’s arbitration clause.

Relators in that case alleged that the defendant employer retaliated against them for cooperating with the government and filing a whistleblower case. Relators alleged that throughout their employment they complained to management about fraud, but, despite their complaints, the perpetrators of the unlawful conduct were left in place and their attempts to correct the problems were rebuffed. Ultimately, one of the relators was forced to quit due to the retaliation and the other was laid off. The district court dismissed the retaliation claim in favor of arbitration due to a clause in relators’ employment agreements.

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The WikiLeaks Scandal and the Whistleblower Protection Act

Federal employees may find themselves with greater whistleblower protection, if a new bill passes through Congress. The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011, introduced by a bipartisan group of senators, is aimed at strengthening protection for federal employees who disclose fraud and misconduct. The legislation would protect employees who blow the whistle on “gross waste or mismanagement, fraud, abuse, or illegal activity,” as well as those who disclose censorship of scientific or technical information. It will not protect disclosures of disagreements over policy.

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