The Treatment of Whistleblowers

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Recommended: The roles and functions of whistle blowing

It used to be that whistleblowers were applauded, and they still are in the private sector, but it seems as if government whistleblowers are criticized and many are even criminally charged. There is certainly a different take on their activities. In fact, some advocates counsel federal employees not to come forward with information because if they do, their lives will be destroyed (Shulman, 2007). What often happens is that they will never be able to work in their careers again in the same capacity (Shulman, 2007). Many whistleblowers not only lose their jobs, but they lose their families and friends, and much of their money ends up going to attorneys (Shulman, 2007). Indeed, in today’s day and age, there is a surge of whistleblowers prosecutions, and it is quite worrisome (Burghardt, 2011). Are the rights of citizens being eroded in order to protect bureaucratic secrets? Many case studies in this area support the notion that thing have gone awry. First, we shall look at the concept of whistleblowers

Whistleblowers often make their way into the public eye, but what is a whistle blower exactly? What are the criteria? Whistle blowing is "raising the alarm in public about a wrong being committed in private" (Vickers, 2002, p.42). By definition, a whistle blower can only "blow the whistle" on an organization of which he is a member (Vickers, 2002). That point is rather obvious. After all, the concept of being a whistleblower is providing inside information. Also, it brings up a significant problem. People are reluctant to "blow the whistle" because they can lose everything they worked for. It seems almost unfair. The person in this predicament will have to decide whether or not to keep his job as is, or to do the right thing and tel...

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MISDEMEANOR. The Baltimore Sun, 2A.

Burghardt, T. (2011, May 16). US Government Spying on Americans.

Retrieved from http://truthfrequencynews.com/?p=3128

Larson, A. (2003, September). Wrongful Termination of At Will Employment.

Retrieved from

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/employment/at_will.html

Schulman, D. (2007, May 1). DON'T Whistle WHILE YOU WORK. Mother

Jones, (3), 52.

The GIFT of INFORMATION. (2010, December 05). New York Times

Magazine.

Vickers, L. (2002). Freedom of speech and employment. Oxford University Press.

Wikileaks whistleblower Bradley Manning faces death penalty

after Army charges him with 'aiding the enemy. (2011, March). Retrieved from

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1362375/Bradley-Manning-Wikileaks-whistleblower-faces-death-penalty-aiding-enemy.html

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