Employment and Whistle-blower Protection
Chapter Four – Whistle-Blowing
What is Whistle-Blowing?
Whistle-blowing is the voluntary release of non-public information, as a moral protest, by a member or former member of an organization to an appropriate audience outside the normal channels of communication regarding illegal and/or immoral conduct in the organization that is opposed to the public interest.
The Key Points in this Definition are:
1. A whistle-blower is a member or former member of an organization and not an outsider.
2. The information that is revealed by the whistle-blower is non-public information and not already-known facts.
3. The information concerns some significant misconduct by the organization or some of its members.
4. The information is revealed outside of the normal channels of corporate communication within an organization.
5. The information is revealed voluntarily and not by a legal mandate.
6. The information is revealed as a moral protest in order to correct some perceived wrong.
The Justification of Whistle-Blowing
Whistle-blowing pits an employee’s loyalty to the organization against his or her loyalty to the public interest. The justification of whistle-blowing therefore requires an understanding of the duty of loyalty that an employee owes an employer.
The Loyal Agent Argument against Whistle-Blowing
An employee is an agent of his or her employer. An agent is a person engaged to act in the interest of another person, who is known as the principal. Employees are legally agents of their employers. As agents, they are obligated to work as directed, to protect confidential information, and, in general, to act in the principal’s best interest
Although the whistle-blower might appear to be a disloyal agent, the obligations of an agent’s loyalty has limits. Whistle-blowing, therefore, is not incompatible with being a loyal agent.
Two limits on the obligation of agents are especially important:
1. An agent has an obligation to obey only
What is Whistle-Blowing?
Whistle-blowing is the voluntary release of non-public information, as a moral protest, by a member or former member of an organization to an appropriate audience outside the normal channels of communication regarding illegal and/or immoral conduct in the organization that is opposed to the public interest.
The Key Points in this Definition are:
1. A whistle-blower is a member or former member of an organization and not an outsider.
2. The information that is revealed by the whistle-blower is non-public information and not already-known facts.
3. The information concerns some significant misconduct by the organization or some of its members.
4. The information is revealed outside of the normal channels of corporate communication within an organization.
5. The information is revealed voluntarily and not by a legal mandate.
6. The information is revealed as a moral protest in order to correct some perceived wrong.
The Justification of Whistle-Blowing
Whistle-blowing pits an employee’s loyalty to the organization against his or her loyalty to the public interest. The justification of whistle-blowing therefore requires an understanding of the duty of loyalty that an employee owes an employer.
The Loyal Agent Argument against Whistle-Blowing
An employee is an agent of his or her employer. An agent is a person engaged to act in the interest of another person, who is known as the principal. Employees are legally agents of their employers. As agents, they are obligated to work as directed, to protect confidential information, and, in general, to act in the principal’s best interest
Although the whistle-blower might appear to be a disloyal agent, the obligations of an agent’s loyalty has limits. Whistle-blowing, therefore, is not incompatible with being a loyal agent.
Two limits on the obligation of agents are especially important:
1. An agent has an obligation to obey only