The 3 Things You Need To Know If You Plan To Be A Whistleblower

There are some people born to always make sure they do the right thing. Sometimes it even carries a risk of them suffering as a result. This is why there are laws in the books to protect whistleblowers. If you are a witness to some unethical or even illegal behaviour at work, then you should know what your rights are.

For instance, if you were to witness some kind of intimidation to stop a shop from unionizing, then this is something you would want to tell authorities about but might feel afraid to do. You could be worried that you will have trouble getting a job after you sign a non-compete clause.

According to non-compete advice from HKM, you are covered in this type of scenario, so don’t let anything or anyone intimidate you. In this article, we will go over several things you should know about before blowing the whistle.

1 - Know your rights

Since you are protected by the government for being somebody who will stand up and say that something happening isn’t right, it is important to understand what that means exactly.

Before you blow the whistle, you should take a look at what your local laws are regarding whistleblower protections. On a federal level, things are fairly clear for certain types of whistleblower scenarios. However, on a local level, you may have fewer protections.

If you go ahead without understanding the repercussions, you may put yourself in an unfortunate predicament where you lose your job and may even face retaliatory reactions you are not protected from. 

2 - Try to stay anonymous

You can be a very able whistleblower without the public ever needing to know who you are. One of the most famous examples is the whistleblower who alerted the media about the Watergate scandal and remained anonymous for decades. The media may know who you are and the government agency you are dealing with as well. However, your employer may not ever find out who it was that blew the whistle so you are able to stay out of the spotlight.

3 - Don’t trust anybody

There are going to be times when you feel very alone during the process. The best way to avoid premature exposure is not to trust anybody and simply find ways to deal with the situation.

You may even be betrayed by accident by somebody who has your best interests at heart if they let things slip. Avoid the urge to confide in people and only talk to the authorities or the media.