On Jan. 24, 2023, the Whistleblowers Protection Act was passed by the Senate. It was about time, because the European Commission started infraction proceedings against the Dutch state almost a year ago for the late implementation of the European Whistleblowers Directive. In this blog, I will explain the content of the directive and the law and what the consequences will be for employers once the law enters into force.
The Whistleblower Directive
The Whistleblowing Directive was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on October 23, 2019. This directive aims to protect individuals who report wrongdoing within an organization (violations of EU law) to the appropriate (internal or external) body. Indeed, fear of retaliation may deter these individuals (also known as whistleblowers) from reporting a wrongdoing they have identified. This, while reporting can actually help prevent or reveal these wrongdoings, and in doing so, whistleblowers fulfill an important social enforcement function. To serve this purpose, the Directive contains a description of the violations covered (material scope), the persons protected (personal scope) and the conditions under which they are protected.
In short, the Directive amounts to protecting:
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