Americans have long deplored

"squealing."

Federal law provides varying degrees of protection from retaliation, but whistleblowers like Nordgaard often pay a high price for exercising their consciences. Americans have long deplored "squealing," and we sometimes ignore violations, partly out of fear of retribution. Based on a national survey in $2013$ of employees who observed workplace misconduct in $2012,63$ percent reported what they saw, most often to a direct supervisor, but often to more than one person inside the company. Relatively few reported violations outside the organization, and only nine percent did so to a government authority. ${?}^{113}$

Employers sometimes discourage whistleblowing by requiring employees to sign confidentiality $($also known as nondisclosure$)$ agreements. Employers have a right to protect confidential information such as trade secrets$,$ but in general, they cannot legally require employees to desist from legitimate whistleblowing to the government. On the other hand, some critics believe the very high recoveries available to whistleblowers may turn employees into "entrepreneurs" searching for possible wrongdoing in their companies in order to secure a financial payoff. In Digital Realty Trust v$.$ Somers, the U$.$S$.$ Supreme Court held that the anti$-$retaliation provisions of the $2010$ Dodd$-$Frank Act protect only those who report alleged violations to the SEC, and not those who only used a company's internal compliance system. ${?}^{114}$

Questions

What might be the impact of Digital Realty on whistleblowers? Why might this cause concerns for corporations with internal complaint procedures? Explain.

a$.$ How would you feel about a classmate who blew the whistle on you for cheating on an examination?

b$.$ Would you report cheating by a classmate if it came to your attention? Explain.