Whistle Blower and the Allegory of the Cave

The Life of a Whistle Blower Since the 1960s, the public value of whistle blowing has been increasingly recognized. Whistle blowing statutes protect from discharge or discrimination an employee who has initiated an investigation of an employer’s activities or who has otherwise cooperated with a regulatory agency in carrying out an inquiry or the enforcement of regulations. Many states have enacted whistle blower statutes, but these statutes vary widely in coverage. Some statutes apply only to public employees, some apply to both public and private employees, and others apply to public contractors. Under the federal False Claims Act, any person with knowledge of false claims or fraud against the institution may bring a lawsuit in his or her own name and in the name of the United States. As long as the information is not publicly disclosed and the government has not already sued the defendant for the fraud, the whistle blower, who is called a relator in this action, may bring a False Claims Act case. The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 is a United States federal law that protects whistleblowers who report agency misconduct. The agency violates the Whistleblower Protection Act if agency authorities take (or threaten to take) retaliatory personnel action against any employee or applicant because of disclosure of information by that employee or applicant (“Whistle Blower Protection Act”). “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we perceive and believe in what is reality. The thesis behind Plato’s allegory is the basic opinion that all we perceive are imperfect “reflections” of the ultimate forms, which subsequently represent truth and reality. The complex meanings that can be perceived from the “cave” can be seen in the beginning with the presence of the prisoners who are chained in the darkness of the cave. The prisoners are bound to the floor and unable to turn their heads to see what goes on

Cited: Berkrot, Bill. “Pfizer Whistleblower’s Ordeal Reaps Big Rewards.” Reuters. 02 Sep 2009. Web 27 Nov. 2012. Gilroy, Tony, dir. Michael Clayton. 2007. Film. 29 Nov. 2012. Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. New York: Perennial, 2004. Print. United States of America. United States of Special Counsel. Whistleblower Protection Act. 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.