WASHINGTON, D.C. — In celebration of National Whistleblower Day, whistleblowers and their supporters gathered in the Kennedy Caucus Room of the Rayburn Building in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to continue to promote recognition of the day and to bring awareness to the hundreds of individuals who have been tagged with the “whistleblower” moniker as they attempt to battle wrongdoing in the workplace.

The initial recognition of National Whistleblower Day came in 1778, when 10 sailors and Marines aboard the frigate Warren turned their energy from fighting the British to blowing the whistle on the Navy’s top leader, Esek Hopkins.

Those men wrote a letter pleading for help from one of the members of the Continental Congress, Robert Treat Paine. For their trouble, Hopkins sued them, causing two of the 10, who lived within the court’s jurisdiction, to be arrested, held in jail and forced to post a significant bond. The Congress, on July 30, 1778, passed the first whistleblower law toward those men’s protection and found in their favor.

In 2013, the U.S. Senate recognized National Whistleblower Day after National Whistleblower Center Chairman Stephen Kohn discovered the 1778 Congress resolution in support of the 10 whistleblowers. Since that time, the day has been designated on July 30, with unanimous resolutions from the U.S. Senate.

At Tuesday’s annual event, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., both spoke to the importance of supporting whistleblowers.

“As long...

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