Alaska’s Whistleblower Protection Act (AS 39.90.100-150) has been on the books for decades. On paper, it looks strong. It says state employees cannot be retaliated against when they report violations of law, gross mismanagement, abuse of authority or waste of public funds. It authorizes reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages and attorney fees.
In practice, though, it is little more than a hollow promise. The only path to relief is a private lawsuit in Superior Court. That’s a long, expensive process that most employees cannot afford. Few attorneys will take these cases on contingency. That leaves whistleblowers exposed, discouraged and often forced to quit or stay silent.
A case from a decade ago highlights this problem. In 2016, a former state electrician testified before the House Finance Committee. He described reporting long-term misuse of state time and resources at a training facility, only to face what he called sustained retaliation that forced him to resign. He later accepted another state position and raised concerns again, this time about the abrupt cancellation of an inmate apprenticeship program and a workplace culture that had already resulted in a six-figure settlement with a corrections union official. After raising these concerns directly with senior leadership, he testified that he was terminated following what he described as a series of unfounded accusations and HR investigations.
The current system does not protect whistleblowers. Fixing that...
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Kang Haggerty LLC said it represented a whistleblower in a federal False Claims Act case that resulted in a $2 million settlement with Recovery Centers of America, resolving all...