If you witness illegal acts committed by your employer or organization, you may feel conflict about what to do next. There may be a moral conflict between wanting to alert the authorities and fearing the loss of your job. Fortunately, Michigan’s whistleblower laws protect you from retaliation if you report illegal or immoral activity. 

We understand how whistleblower laws protect those who come forward and have helped many of our clients with their cases. 

How whistleblower laws protect you 

According to FindLaw experts, your employer cannot engage in certain activities once they know you are either about to report them or have already done so. The exception to this rule is if they know your allegations are false. If the allegations are true, however, whistleblower laws prevent them from taking the following actions. 

  • Threatening or firing you 
  • Discriminating against you 
  • Punishing you in some manner 
  • Intentionally trying to deter you from further reporting information 
  • Suspending or demoting you 
  • Refusing to pay you either benefits or actual pay 
  • Attempting to intimidate you 

If your employer does any of the above, you may file a civil action against them for restitution or damages your incur as a result. You may receive reinstatement of your employment, benefits, employee status, back pay and court costs. This applies to both public and private employees. 

Why whistleblower laws exist 

The courts agree that it is in the best interests of a society to be aware of crimes in an organization so they can fix the problems. Because of this, governments encourage people to come forward with information by offering them protection. If the government offered no protections to whistleblowers, the likelihood of people reporting unethical behavior would be extremely low. More information about this topic is available on our webpage.