What You Need To Know About Whistleblower Rewards
Recent laws have set up a system where whistleblowers can receive rewards for revealing the wrongdoings of companies or agencies. These rewards can sometimes be in the millions of dollars for large infractions. You should know a little about the whistleblower reward system in place today.
Qualifying For the Reward
You must meet a number of different requirements in order to qualify for a whistleblower reward. The first is that the information you provide must be actionable. It must lead investigators to an illegal or otherwise forbidden action on the part of the company. You are also going to have to be mostly uninvolved with the criminal or illegal activities. Otherwise, the government could pursue charges against you as well. A final qualification is that the information you provided must have resulted in enforcement actions taken by the government. This is important because there are cases where no action is taken even though there was clear wrongdoing on the part of the business or agency. If you meet all of these requirements, then you are potentially eligible to receive a significant reward from the government after the case is resolved.
Reward Amounts
You could receive a large amount as a whistleblower reward. The general rule is that you could receive between 10 percent and 30 percent of any money collected. This means money that is collected from the offender through financial penalties levied by the government. It does not necessary mean the actual amount of money involved in the illegal activities. You are only eligible to receive this reward if the penalties and fines exceed $1 million. The reward you receive is protected by law so that a previous employer cannot sue you for damages later. One drawback is that your name will be revealed when you do claim the whistleblower reward.