Imagine that when you go to work tomorrow, you learn that your employer is knowingly breaking the law. It’s something serious and you believe your employer may be causing real harm. You’re not in a position to change jobs right now and you definitely can’t afford to get fired. You try looking the other way and telling yourself it’s not your problem, but you have trouble sleeping and can’t stop thinking about it. What would you do?

People who find themselves in this situation are in an incredibly difficult position. The sad reality is that if the employee wants to keep their job, the safest option is usually to do nothing. Calling attention to an employer’s unethical, dangerous, or illegal activity is an easy way for an employee to get branded as a troublemaker—and most employers do not want to employ troublemakers.

At the same time, even though it is a huge risk for the employee, reporting such activity is often in the public’s best interest. To help reduce the risk faced by employees and promote the public interest, the United States Congress and many state legislatures have passed laws that can protect and even reward people who blow the whistle on their employer’s wrongful activity.

Whistleblower protections and rewards

There are two basic types of whistleblower laws: those that offer legal protections to employees who engage in protected activities like reporting their employer to the proper authorities, and those that reward people who help the government uncover and...

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