When employees take such action, they are legally protected from retaliation by their employers, including measures such as reprimands, reassignment, discharge, demotion, suspension, harassment or threats.
If employers retaliate against employees who are attempting to stop fraud, they can expose themselves to additional criminal and civil penalties than those involved with the FCA violations.
In the recent case Smith v. LHC Group, Inc, it was decided that if an employee chooses to resign rather than participate in fraud, that may still be considered an illegal firing by the company, with all penalties that apply.