Whistle blowers are Treated Harshly

[edward]

I seem to sense that whistle blowers are seen as lesser citizens. Is it the old stool pigeon connotation? There is something to this that doesn't make sense. Many people have given valuable information about illegal acts and corruption only to end up on the losing side.

One after another, the men and women who have stepped forward to report corruption in the massive effort to rebuild Iraq have been vilified, fired and demoted.

Or worse.

For daring to report illegal arms sales, Navy veteran Donald Vance says he was imprisoned by the American military in a security compound outside Baghdad and subjected to harsh interrogation methods.

In this next case a government employee was demoted and her life thoroughly trashed.
I understand that Haliburton is a powerful company, but that doesn't explain why her friends abandoned her. Do we have a collective darker side when it comes to accepting those who report wrongdoing? It appears that we do.

"Bunnatine "Bunny" Greenhouse knows this only too well. As the highest-ranking civilian contracting officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, she testified before a congressional committee in 2005 that she found widespread fraud in multibillion-dollar rebuilding contracts awarded to former Halliburton (nyse: HAL - news - people ) subsidiary KBR (nyse: KBR - news - people ).

Soon after, Greenhouse was demoted. She now sits in a tiny cubicle in a different department with very little to do and no decision-making authority, at the end of an otherwise exemplary 20-year career.

People she has known for years no longer speak to her.

"It's just amazing how we say we want to remove fraud from our government, then we gag people who are just trying to stand up and do the right thing," she says."

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/24/ap4052736.html

 

[russ_watters]

In this next case a government employee was demoted and her life thoroughly trashed.
I understand that Haliburton is a powerful company, but that doesn't explain why her friends abandoned her. Do we have a collective darker side when it comes to accepting those who report wrongdoing? It appears that we do.

The article isn't exactly clear on who those friends were. If they were employees of Haliburton, their anger is quite understandable: she threatened their livelihood. And the same goes for the company itself. I mean really - if you turn your mother in for tax evasion, can you not expect your next family reunion to be a bit hostile?

That isn't to say we shouldn't have whistleblower laws, but if I had a whistle to blow, I'd probably quit my job first if I could.

 

[edward]

The article isn't exactly clear on who those friends were. If they were employees of Haliburton, their anger is quite understandable: she threatened their livelihood. And the same goes for the company itself. I mean really - if you turn your mother in for tax evasion, can you not expect your next family reunion to be a bit hostile?

That isn't to say we shouldn't have whistle blower laws, but if I had a whistle to blow, I'd probably quit my job first if I could.

She wasn't an employee of Haliburton she was the highest-ranking civilian contracting officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She testified before Congress, yet even the Congress gave her no protection.

As far as quitting the job before reporting; one would then be labeled as a disgruntled former employee. It happens all the time.

I still think that there is a darker reason behind the way whistle blowers are treated, even by their friends and co-workers.

In her situation or in the corporate world, we could safely assume that the higher ranking officials are not pleased. In effect the whistle blower has made them look bad and must be discredited.

 

[drankin]

It's the cost of being a whistle-blower. If you're going to do it, expect the worst.

 

[devil-fire]

It's the cost of being a whistle-blower. If you're going to do it, expect the worst.

shouldn't government be working vary hard to make sure whistle-blowers are compensated for their contribution to society? i mean that sounds like a fairly standard thing for a government or justice system to do, to make sure people that report violations of law are not harmed for it

 

[turbo]

Whistle-blowing on a minor problem is one thing. If you blow the whistle on graft, corruption, bribery, etc, involving serious money, you are stepping on the tails of some really big dogs and you will get bitten.

 

[drankin]

shouldn't government be working vary hard to make sure whistle-blowers are compensated for their contribution to society? i mean that sounds like a fairly standard thing for a government or justice system to do, to make sure people that report violations of law are not harmed for it

Pretty much, no. That's what cops are for.

 

[russ_watters]

She wasn't an employee of Haliburton she was the highest-ranking civilian contracting officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...


I still think that there is a darker reason behind the way whistle blowers are treated, even by their friends and co-workers.

Oh, we'll that's a little weird. I don't kow what the reason would be if she was exposing another company. I'm not even sure that really counts as whistle-blowing. Typically whistle-blowing is reporting on your own company. I can't imagine why your company (even the Army) would get mad if you make it aware that one of your vendors is screwing you.

 

[Gokul43201]

Pretty much, no. That's what cops are for.

No. The cops come in after the whistle has been blown.

You believe whistle-blowers should be punished rather than rewarded? Should we throw away all whistle-blower protection laws (not that GWB hasn't essentially done that with a signing statement) first?

 

[drankin]

If you are going to "blow the whistle" expect trouble. I'm not saying don't do it, just don't expect any special treatment and you better be discreet. Do you realize how many people make false accusations against employers looking for a settlement? If the law were to cater to every loony that called foul they wouldn't be able to do their job. We have special investigators, FBI, and all sorts of agencies that are employed to do just that.

 

[edward]

Oh, we'll that's a little weird. I don't kow what the reason would be if she was exposing another company. I'm not even sure that really counts as whistle-blowing. Typically whistle-blowing is reporting on your own company. I can't imagine why your company (even the Army) would get mad if you make it aware that one of your vendors is screwing you.

It is pretty obvious that in this case both the Congress and the Army Corp of Engineers were very much influenced by Haliburton and Dick Cheney.

"[Expletive] yourself!" former Halliburton chief executive and current veep Dick Cheney snapped at a senator last year in an exchange related to Greenhouse's allegations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/18/AR2005101801796.html

 

[edward]

If you are going to "blow the whistle" expect trouble. I'm not saying don't do it, just don't expect any special treatment and you better be discreet. Do you realize how many people make false accusations against employers looking for a settlement? If the law were to cater to every loony that called foul they wouldn't be able to do their job. We have special investigators, FBI, and all sorts of agencies that are employed to do just that.

By googling "Whistle Blower fired" it would appear that many are fired, especially from government agencies.

As for your statement:

Do you realize how many people make false accusations against employers looking for a settlement?

No I don't realize how many false accusations are made , especially in the context of whistle blowing. Other than something like a sexual harassment accusation how would a whistle blower's claims of wrong doing or illegal practices result in a settlement??

They aren't suing or threatening to sue the employer.

We need a system that stands behind and protects employees who believe in their convictions and are honest enough to step forward. This is especially true in the two cases covered in the OP link, and hundreds of others like it.

If the term concerened employees were to be substituted for whistle blower
would the dark cloud over these people still be as intense??

 

[devil-fire]

If you are going to "blow the whistle" expect trouble. I'm not saying don't do it, just don't expect any special treatment and you better be discreet. Do you realize how many people make false accusations against employers looking for a settlement? If the law were to cater to every loony that called foul they wouldn't be able to do their job. We have special investigators, FBI, and all sorts of agencies that are employed to do just that.

why would you encourage someone to sacrifice parts of their personally life for reporting illegal wrong doing by their employers while at the same time telling them to expect trouble?

to me this sounds like the corporate world equivalent of telling someone "you should tell the police about the crimes of your mafia boss, but just don't expect anyone to protect you from retribution"