Most employees have a sense of trust and respect for their employers. While they undoubtedly hope that their employers would not carry out actions that were illegal or harmful to the company, employees or consumers, that is not always the case. In some instances, an employee may discover wrongdoing in the workplace and end up blowing the whistle.
New York readers may be interested in such a case currently underway in another state. According to reports, a city IT employee determined that over $500,000 had been stolen from the city by hackers and that sensitive information about employees, like Social Security numbers and medical information, was exposed. The employee notified the city of the issues, and within 90 days of filing the report, he was dismissed from his position.
The worker believes that the termination was a direct result of his blowing the whistle on the serious issues within the city’s IT department. The city released a statement indicating that the man was fired due to failure to follow management direction and because he provided misinformation. The worker has since filed a whistleblower lawsuit to address his termination.
Blowing the whistle on wrongdoing in the workplace can be a nerve-wracking step to take. As this situation shows, drawing attention to issues could result in workers facing unfair retaliation. Still, if New York workers have experienced similar scenarios, they may wish to explore their legal options. In some cases, they may have reason to move forward with lawsuits that help expose wrongdoing while also seeking justice for their mistreatment.
