If you want to blow the whistle on a fraudster who has been stealing money from your state’s government, understanding state whistleblower laws is vital before moving forward with a False Claims Act lawsuit. Even though state whistleblower laws are typically modeled after federal whistleblower laws, there are some important differences between the two.
Before moving forward with a false claims act lawsuit, understand the following facts about state whistleblower laws:
There are some states that do not model their state whistleblower laws after federal whistleblower laws.
Currently, there are a few states that only allow their citizens to file False Claims Act lawsuits if they are pertaining to healthcare fraud. For example, if an employee has knowledge that their healthcare employer is intentionally misfiling a Medicare claim, they can file a whistleblower lawsuit.
All states with False Claims laws have protections in place for whistleblowers.
If you are a whistleblower, you do not have to worry about retaliation. You are protected from harassment and firing and there are laws in place that give you the right to sue if you are the victim of retaliation.
To file a state False Claims lawsuit, the state itself must have suffered loss or damage.
If you want to file a lawsuit within a specific state, that state must have lost money as a result of fraud. This means you cannot file a federal lawsuit under your state’s whistleblower laws.
Some states allow whistleblowers to consolidate state and federal lawsuits.
If the federal government or other states have also lost money along with your state as the result of fraud, some states will allow you to create one lawsuit to blow the whistle on a nation-wide fraud.
State False Claims laws vary from state to state.
Even though many states model their laws after federal laws, there are variances from state to state in these laws. In some states there are additional laws or statues that make the process of filing a false claims lawsuit entirely different and more involved.
As you can see, there is a lot to understand about state whistleblower laws and how they differ from the federal whistleblower laws that are currently in place. Because of this, it is very important to seek out a false claims act attorney who is experienced working within your state on false claims lawsuits.
Attorneys with extensive knowledge of both state and federal whistleblower laws will guide you through the process of filing you suit and help you to avoid mistakes that could cost you the reward you deserve for blowing the whistle on a fraudster in your state.
The lawyers at Bothwell Law team focus solely on False Claim Act lawsuits and are experts in this highly specialized field. Call 770.643.1606 to find out more about state whistleblower laws by contacting Bothwell Law Group online.