From a young age, people learn that being a “tattletale” is a negative thing. When they get older and witness illegal activity at the job site, they often maintain this mentality for fear of being ridiculed or even fired from the job. However, when a person allows his or her moral convictions to outweigh the reservations he or she feels about speaking up, the person may end up being a whistleblower, and his or her employer may choose to retaliate against this individual. A Wisconsin worker who has been victimized in such a way reserves the right to file a claim against the employer.
In a recent out-of-state case, a university reading specialist conducted research documenting that several student athletes at the institution read at an elementary grade level. She said that 8 percent of the students she studied happened to fall into this category. This has drawn attention back to an athletic academic scandal that has been going on for a few years at the school.
This university — the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill — did admit that phony classes indeed were being held in its department of Afro-American and African studies. The university said that it certainly had failed to offer adequate oversight in the area of academics. However, it also claimed that the university specialist’s recent research featured flaws.
If an employee who uncovers unfavorable news about an employer ends up being demoted or terminated unjustifiably, for example, he or she may file a lawsuit against the business. An employer typically cannot retaliate against a whistleblower employee. The first step in addressing this issue in Wisconsin is to carefully review the underlying circumstances concerning the employer retaliation complaint.
Source: The Huffington Post, UNC Whistle Blower Mary Willingham Pushes Back Against Critics, Tyler Kingkade, Jan. 30, 2014
