THE WHISTLEBLOWING ERA - A MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE

In today's legal environment, employees have special status as oversee rs of business behavior. As whistleblowers, employees can call their e mployer to account for a wide range of conduct that they perceive to b e improper. Monetary incentives and protections under federal and stat e law encourage employees to be watchful for and to report improprieti es. Thus, employers must confront the reality that a wide range of out siders-regulators, agency inspectors general and auditors, and prosecu tors-as well as quintessential insiders-their own employees-may seek t o hold them accountable for perceived wrong-doing. Human resource mana gers and in-house counsel should develop a coherent strategy for opera ting within this new era of the whistleblower. This article outlines t he legal issues and fundamental elements of developing such a strategy .