On July 30, 1778, the Second Continental Congress passed the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1778, which is considered to be the first whistleblower law in world history. Much has changed in two and a half centuries, but very recently, there has been a revolution of sorts in the whistleblower space:

• The regulatory landscape has been changing rapidly in the United States and abroad, as government institutions have taken decisive action to create, overhaul, and enhance whistleblower protections.
• At the same time, the rate and rewards for whistleblowing have been on the rise, indicating that individuals are more empowered, willing, and incentivized to report bad acts.

What began as a nascent concept of the American Revolution has emerged as a ubiquitous and quickly evolving feature of global compliance. Global organizations must recognize that times are changing, and that adaptation is a must, if they haven’t already. Failing to do so could result in a variety of costs – legal, reputational, and financial – as well as a loss of stakeholders’ confidence. And importantly, it could shortchange employees of their inviolable right to speak up.

Regulatory Developments

In just the past year, multiple countries have either strengthened their whistleblower protections or adopted whistleblower protections into law for the very first time.

The United States

As a legal concept, America’s protection of whistleblowers predates the formal establishment of the country itself, as the...

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