A WhistleBlower Hotline Offers Many Advantages

| Wednesday, January 2, 2013
By Audra Olson


A WhistleBlower hotline is a channel that is there for people who witness or are suspicious of illegal and fraudulent activities. Many organizations and government agencies have such channels in various ways and forms. Some corporations have contracted with independent parties to set up a channel where employees and clients alike can contact them to report any illegal activity.

This channel is used not only to investigate alleged legal violations but they are there to protect the rights of individuals that have reported them, being confidentiality. There are two types of informers; those that are internal informers and those who inform externally. In the case of a corporation for example, an internal informer would be the employee that informs on activities within the organization.

This Act is a protection for informers so that their identities are kept confidential in every possible way. Other means of informer protection had been included in the Act. Companies and the Government have specific channels of communication purely for people who wish to inform a figure of authority of illegal activity that another person or people have committed.

Large business corporations usually have an internal process that must be followed when someone reports a violation of regulations or process. They usually contract to an independent party to run the channel available for employees to report fraud. They are also usually employed to investigate the claims made by informers.

The confidentiality of the informer is assured because serious problems could arise from being an informer. Many people who have witnessed gross violation of procedures and fraudulent activities fear retaliation. Things such as demotion, garnishments on remuneration, termination of employment or even harsh treatment from the impacted parties could the result of retaliation.

Informers who are not employed by the relevant entities that they report about will do so externally. They will likely report the legal violation to a lawyer or to officers of the law. They could also report the illegal activities to federal or state agencies or even the media. People who inform to the media are not often in the spotlight because in many cases, the problem is low profile concerning employment.

Many are afraid to blow the whistle on their workmates or superiors however because of the consequences. If the name of an informer is released, he or she could be ostracized from their workmates. They could be viewed in a negative light because they stepped forward and provided information that was fraudulent. More seriously however; a superior can retaliate by garnishing the salary or demoting the informer. They can also make the work environment impossible and seriously mistreat him.

That is why a WhistleBlower hotline is so necessary so that a person that witnesses or suspects of misconduct within a corporation, they can report it without fear of reprisal. Their identities are kept protected and confidential so that the impacted parties will never know who reported them. With rising levels of crime, people are encouraged to make use of these channels to provide much needed assistance to law enforcers and within corporations.




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