Whistleblowing

Abigail Harrison works as a secretary at BuildCo, a large construction company that specializes in government contracts. Abigail is in charge of reviewing the invoices that BuildCo is sent to the state of Vermont regarding the construction of a new facility for the state's department of transportation. Abigail discovers that BuildCo managers have been illegally overcharging the costs of time and materials in their invoices to state officials. Abigail tells her co-worker Irene Ichan about the overcharges during a lunch break and suggests that they should be fixed. Two weeks later, Abigail is abruptly fired by her immediate supervisor. Assuming that her termination was because of her disclosures to Irene, did BuildCo legally terminate Abigail?

WHAT IF THE FACTS WERE DIFFERENT? 1. Assume now that Abigail reported her findings to the local television news. Has Abigail met the legal requirement of a whistleblower? (yes - no)

2. Why? (Abigail reported illegal activity. - Abigail reported activity to the necessary individuals or entities -. Both answers are correct.)

3. Does the fact that Abigail is an employee at will impact the legality of the decision? (yes - no)

4. On what grounds can Abigail seek redress? (Public policy exception to employment at will. - Whistleblower Protection Act. - Both answers are correct.)

5. What should BuildCo executives have done when they learned of the overbilling from Abigail? (Report it to the state and punish the managers who committed wrongdoing. - Tell Abigail to stay quiet. - Fire Abigail anyway.)