Texas has limited whistleblower protection. Texas Government Code Sec. 554 protects public employees who report violations of law to the appropriate law enforcement agency. See statute. The Texas Whistleblower Act provides for a 90 days deadline in which to file suit. It also requires an employee to first file a grievance if the state
whistleblower
Federal Employees Are Protected if They “Blow the Whistle”
Federal employees enjoy substantial protections other employees do not. One such protection is the whislteblower statute, also known as reporting fraud, waste or abuse. See Workplace Fairness summary. This statute protects a federal employee who reports fraud, waste or abuse or a simple violation of a statute or regulation. There are a number of…
Texas Supreme Court Narrows WhistleBlower Protections
In a recent opinion, the Texas Supreme Court clarified one key aspect of whistle blower complaints. The Texas Whistleblower statute applies to government employees only. See Tex. Govt.C. Sec. 554.001, et seq. The statute protects an employee who reports a possible violation of law. The report or question must be to an "appropriate law…
Texas State Law Claims for Retaliation
Many laypersons people are familiar with the retaliation part of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That anti-retaliation provision prohibits retaliation against someone who opposes discrimination. Title VII is a federal statute. Texas is an at-will state. But, even so, Texas does have a few state anti-retaliation statutes.
Texas prohibits reprisal…
Whistle Blower Runs into Many Problems
Whistleblowers have a rough row to hoe. George Green knows this better than anyone. A former architect for the Texas Dept. of Health and Human Services, he blew the whistle on shoddy building practices at DHHS some 25 years ago. DHHS fired him in 1989 for alleged sick leave issues. In 1991, the jury…
Employee Fired for His Honesty Loses Appeal
The employee of an Illinois law firm was fired when he refused to cooperate in issuing fraudulent bills to clients. The law firm claimed the hours performed by an in-hpuse employee were actually performed by an outside investigator. The firm then billed at the higher rates used by outside investigators. One of the in-house investigators…
San Antonio Jury Awards SAWS Employee $275,000
A former SAWS employee was awarded $275,000 in state district court here in Bexar County. See San Antonio Express News report. Kevin Martin claimed he was fired because he reported that employees were improperly exposed to asbestos pipes. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigated and found violations. Sounds like a whistle blower lawsuit. …
Bexar Met Offers Whistleblower His Old Job Back
In a clever move, Bexar Metropolitan Water District has offered Gilbert Herrera, a whistleblower, his old job back. See San Antonio Express News report. Bexar Met has also deposited the amount of Mr. Herrera’s lost pay into the registry of the court. Yet, the lawsuit will proceed.
See my prior post about Mr. Herrera…
Doctor Placed on Probation
The employer does lose, sometimes. I wrote about the nurses who complained about a doctor. See prior post. The nurses were charged with felonies, which charges were eventually dropped. They then filed a whistleblower lawsuit and eventually settled. Their lawsuit became nationally known. Well, now the doctor they complained about has now suffered his…
Whistleblower Settles Case Against Kellum Family Practice
The federal government has settled a case against a longtime San Antonio medical group. Kellum Family Medical Practice Associates was accused of falsely billing the federal government. The lawsuit, a qui tam lawsuit, also known as a whistle blower lawsuit, started when a former employee claimed the Kellum clinic submitted false bills for medicare and…