Sometimes it’s more important what you do before blowing the whistle than after. North Carolina whistleblower attorney Kathryn Abernethy talks about what those steps are here. Raleigh, North Carolina employment attorney Abernethy talks about what exactly you need to do before blowing the whistle. This is part of a recurring series where Kathryn talks employment law in North Carolina. For more videos in this series, click here. You can also read the transcription of the video below.
https://youtu.be/TAiJ6X-cmUA
Transcription: What Steps Should a Whistleblower Take Before Taking Any Action?
First and most important step is to figure out what statute for the rule the company’s conduct is violating.
Check it out with an attorney. Pay for consultation with a lawyer to sit down and talk about, âis this a violation of law? What would it cost me to have you look at this and try to match it up to a legal violation.â
You want to know that before you make the report because one of the biggest credibility killers that I see is when whistleblowers report something that they think might be illegal or must be illegal under some statute and it turns out not to be at all.
So really make sure you know and understand what potential statute is being violated here, whose rights are getting violated, and be sure to state that in your initial report.
The more direct and the more specific you are in your whistleblower report, the greater the protection and the greater your chances of prevailing should you be retaliated against down the road.
