The Supreme Court has declined to settle conflict between two federal court decisions on whether former employees are covered by whistleblower anti-retaliation protections contained in the False Claims Act (FCA).

The decision Monday comes in response to a petition regarding a March 2021 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on the case of David Felten. Felten, a neurologist, filed a qui tam lawsuit in 2010 against his former employer, Michigan-based William Beaumont Hospital, for allegedly paying kickbacks for referrals. The hospital eventually settled the lawsuit in 2018 by agreeing to pay $84.5 million.

After he was fired, Felten claimed the hospital attempted to block him from getting another job in his chosen profession. He never made any allegations of on-the-job retaliation. The court ruled the anti-retaliation provisions of the FCA cover former employees like Felten.

“If employers can simply threaten, harass, and discriminate against employees without repercussion as long as they fire them first, potential whistleblowers could be dissuaded from reporting fraud against the government,” the ruling read.

The hospital appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, saying allowing it to stand would permit workers to bring qui tam lawsuits against their former employers years or even decades after they left their job.

The Felten ruling conflicts with a 2018 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit that concluded the FCA’s...

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