A steady rise in corporate whistleblower retaliation cases has occurred in recent years and a crucial element in winning these lawsuits centers on what evidence the employee can marshal to prove their claims. Typically the employer holds most of the cards in terms of access to documents and information related to the underlying facts in a whistleblower retaliation dispute. But various types of evidence are also available to employees and below is a summary of three central types of documents that corporate whistleblowers should review carefully as early as possible in their case and/or seek to get during the discovery process in litigation.
Although the documents and information discussed below should be available to most employees, it is important not to access or take documents from an employer that may contain trade secrets, personal information about other employees, client lists, or otherwise proprietary/confidential information. Consult with an employment lawyer if you have questions about which documents may be considered “off-limits.”
To be clear, the various laws protecting whistleblowers from retaliation, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), do not require employees to file a written, internal complaint to the company about potentially unlawful conduct. If, however, a written internal complaint exists, this document can help make a corporate whistleblower retaliation case even...
In January of 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice reported a record-breaking year for False Claims Act recoveries, with the vast majority related to healthcare. What the DOJ report does not captu...