Whistleblowing and Sarbanes-Oxley Due
Key characteristic of a whistleblower
A whistleblower is an employee or ex-employee of a company who reveals an illegal behavior in the organization for instance crime to the law enforcement. A whistleblower generally exposes secret information to other workers in the organization that can cause a danger to the employees. The key characteristic of a whistleblower is one he or she must be honest and fearless so that he or she can expose the misconduct courageously and brave enough. A whistleblower has to have tenacity and reasoning characteristics because whistle blowing requires a person who is drawn out process and difficult issue to bear along with all consequences. The other key characteristic of a whistleblower is being able to battle vengeance so as to defend his or herself from being threatened which can help him or her to fight (Jos, Tompkins & Hays, 1989).
The public company that has been a victim of whistle-blowing for the last twelve months is the bank of America. According to Miceli and Near (1992), the Details issue that whistleblower reported of Bank of America is a denial of the loan to the qualified homeowners to access modification programs government loan. The effects of the whistleblower’s action on both whistleblower and the company are they both have penalties against targeted firms, penalties against and culpable employees. Another effect on both whistleblower and the company is the duration of regulatory and prison sentences enforcement actions for financial misrepresentation and total enforcement periods which lead to wastage of time and financial shortage to both the company and whistleblower. Both whistleblower and company are affected is such a way that may experience retaliation by being punished by the authority is they are found in a wrong side. The both whistleblower and the company may suffer the loss of money so as to defend themselves from illegal behavior.
Justification of a whistleblower in reporting company’s actions
The whistleblower was justified in reporting company’s actions because it brought to the notice of the department of firm intention and justice. According to Jos, Tompkins and Hays (1989) whistleblower was justified because of simply reporting the employees’ disasters in the organization. Through punish that a whistleblower might be given by the organization that may persuade other employees to maintain the silent of the secret thus retaliation ineffectiveness to the whistleblower making him or her to be justifiable. By reporting company action, the whistleblower is justified for providing the respective information which is considered to be original as well as innovative information.
A whistleblower can lose his or her job in the case of reporting an illegal secret matter into the law enforcement for that reason a whistleblower is justified in reporting company’s actions. Whistleblower discloses all the secrets in the organization without considering what next consequence will happen in his or her life, therefore, making a whistleblower be reasonable. The whistleblower is justifiable if the report he or she have reported illegal secret is true thus making a motivation to other workers in the different organization that is why whistleblower if justified (Jos, Tompkins & Hays, 1989).
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of protecting a whistleblower
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is the act that protects the reported illegal matters by the whistleblower to the law enforcement agencies. According to Stephen (2016) under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the whistleblower is protected with a legal extent from the adverse changes in term and conditions of employment. In the year 2002, Securities and Exchange Commission regulations were protected by Sarbanes-Oxley Act as publicly traded companies which were reported in violation of. Whistleblower is legally protected is he or she has blown the whistle that is not revealing the illegal secret of an organization in the case of being engaging his or herself with protecting activity.
Whistleblower is protected with legal extent by the Act of Sarbanes-Oxley if the publicly traded companies create internal and independent as a part of mandating file of the whistleblower complaint. Sarbanes-Oxley Act provides the False Claims Act, the law that protects the whistleblower. With the False Claims Act, whistleblowers who are falsely reporting illegal matter about an organization are protected because they are defending their rights as employees (Stephen, 2016)
In briefly, whistleblowing is the act of protecting the employees in the organization by revealing the illegal secret to the law enforcement. The key characteristics of a person that reveal the secret matter to the law enforcement are, honest, tenacity, fearless, battle vengeance and fearless. With whistleblowing, both the organization and the whistleblower are both affected is such a way like penalties. Sarbanes-Oxley Act protects whistleblower by providing False Claims Act that is used to depend on a whistleblower in false reports.
References
Miceli, M. P., & J. P. Near. (1292). Blowing the Whistle: The Organizational and Legal
Implications for Companies and Employees. Lexington Books, New York.
Jos, P.H., Tompkins, M.E., & Hays, S. W. (1989). In praise of difficult people: A portrait of the
committed whistleblower. Public Administration Review, 49, 552-561.
Stephen M. K. (2016). Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Legal protection for corporate whistleblowers
