In the technical, legal sense, “whistleblowing” involves invoking formal processes established by statute for a person (usually an employee) to protect herself/himself from retaliation for reporting alleged violations of certain laws.
According to Tim Delaney is the president and chief executive officer of the National Council of Nonprofits in Washington, D.C., most whistleblower laws are relatively new, as are the terms “whistleblowing” and “whistleblower.” (Neither the 1973 edition of The American Heritage Dictionary nor 1978 edition of Black’s Law Dictionary contain the words.) Congress enacted the Whistleblower Protection Act in 1989. Since then, Congress has passed multiple whistleblowing statutes in specific contexts, as have the states.
But the informal, colloquial sense of “whistleblowing” covers much more. Just as sports referees blow whistles to stop play when there has been a violation of the rules, individuals can blow a proverbial whistle to call attention to — and try to stop or report — bad acts. Whistleblowing involves calling attention to perceived violations of expectations, norms, rules, requirements, laws, according to Delaney. It occurs not only in the nonprofit sector, but also in the for-profit and government sectors, as well as in most familial, educational, and other sets of social relationships.
“Whistleblowing occurs in a seemingly endless array of settings and methods,” according to Delaney. They including:
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