The federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) allows an individual with knowledge of fraud upon the federal government, often known as a whistleblower or qui tam relator, to bring a lawsuit on the federal government’s behalf to recover the funds. Many states have adopted similar laws that apply to fraud upon state and local government entities. [...]
The simplest answer is that, in False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases, the relator is the whistleblower who brings the FCA claims against the company or individual who is committing fraud. Usually a qui tam relator is an insider—typically a current or former employee—who has access to confidential information showing that his or her employer [...]
The Tennessee False Claims Act (“Tennessee FCA”) mirrors the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”), but it involves claims made to state and local governments in Tennessee, as opposed to the federal government. The Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act (“Tennessee Medicaid FCA”) applies to any false claims made to Tennessee’s state Medicaid program. The Tennessee [...]
The eighteenth-century philosopher, Edmund Burke, long ago cautioned that, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.” That admonition still holds true today. Whistleblowing involves individuals willing to come forward to stop fraud and other wrongdoing against the government (and by extension, the taxpayers). Those individuals who [...]
In 2015, Vermont enacted its own version of the federal False Claims Act.[1] Generally speaking, the Vermont False Claims Act is very similar to the Federal False Claims Act except that the Vermont law prohibits fraud upon the state government, while the federal law prohibits fraud upon the federal government. What the Vermont False [...]
Like many states, Florida generally has an “at-will” employment policy, meaning that employees can be fired at any time for any reason that doesn’t violate a statutory or constitutional protection. For whistleblowers, that statutory protection comes from the Florida Whistleblower’s Act, which protects public employees, or the Florida Private Sector Whistleblower Act, Fla. Stat. [...]
(Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 71-5-181 to 185) The Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act (“Tennessee Medicaid FCA”) allows whistleblowers to sue in the name of the State of Tennessee where a wrongdoer engages in conduct that defrauds the state or local government of its healthcare dollars. This statute is designed to address Medicaid fraud. The Tennessee Medicaid FCA imposes liability [...]
If you observe actions that you believe are illegal and cheating the government, what should you do? What are the pros or cons of deciding to report that misconduct to someone – possibly someone within your company, who could fix things? Or reporting to a regulatory agency that your business interacts with, such as [...]
The New Hampshire False Claims Act (“New Hampshire FCA”) was first enacted in 2004. It authorizes whistleblowers with knowledge of fraudulent efforts by persons or businesses to obtain New Hampshire state funds or to avoid an obligation to pay New Hampshire state funds to file suit on behalf of the state of New Hampshire. See N.H. [...]
The Michigan Whistleblowers’ Protection Act (“WPA”), Mich. Comp. Laws § 15.361-369 (2017), was enacted in 1980. The WPA protects employees, or agents acting on behalf of an employee, who report or are about to report violations of state, local, or federal law to any public body, from retaliation by their employers, unless the employee [...]
