Federal and State Laws Protect Whistleblowers

When Congressional investigators were pouring over documents flowing from the wreckage of Enron, they came across a memo written by a little known executive named Sherron Watkins. The memo, written to Enron Board Chairman Ken Lay, outlined concerns that she had with the company's accounting. After testimony before Congress and write-ups in some of the nation's largest magazines, Watkins became one of the nation's most famous whistleblowers.

Subsequent to the Enron debacle, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Law which provides protections for whistleblowers like Watkins. The provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley add to a web of other federal statutes protecting whistleblowers. While some of these federal statutes are listed below, it important to note that employees may be protected by one or more statutes and therefore it is important to consult an attorney to determine one's specific rights.