Assignment 1
Strayer University LEG500
Professor Lundondo Mumeka
Abu Abbasi
October 28, 2014
Whistleblowing and Sarbanes-Oxley:
Key characteristics of a Whistleblower
What is a whistle-blower? A whistle-blower can be an employee or an ex-employee of a company who have evidence of deceitfulness and/or unethical behavior in the organization or behavior in the business that is not in the best interest of the public (Fernando, 365). Whistle-blowers usually disclose classified information in their workplace to others, which violates the law or even endangers the welfare of the employees. One of the characteristic of a whistleblower is that they are devoted and motivated to the cause. They are useful to …show more content…
Well, recently a Veterans Affairs nurse named Val Riviello who spent 28 years taking care of veterans in Albany NY, came forward to report abuse against patients and the stealing of drugs by doctors. Instead of her supervisors fixing the problems they turn on her by taking away her nursing duties and suspending her without pay for 30 days. Some may argue that Ms. Riviello should not have reported these actions to her supervisors. Ms. Riviello discovered that someone had stolen 5,000 vials of morphine, then the vials were refilled with saline solution, and then they were given to veterans who were in major pain. On November 5, 2013 a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder was restrained for 49 hours which is a violation of procedures (Blount, 2014). If the patient is no longer a threat to themselves or others the limitations are supposed to come off of the patient. These are veterans that have served our country to protect us from outside forces. This is action is very cruel and vicious. Ms. Riviello went to FoxNews to report the actions of her supervisors to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and the VA Inspector General. Ms. Riviello’s lawyer Cheri Cannon has requested the patient’s files to assist her in the defense of her client. The OSC is investigating the action that was taking against 37 VA employees who made claims to their …show more content…
Employees who reported that their company retaliated against them for reporting alleged misconduct can possibly bring legal claims against their employer. I think this a very difficult discussion for the courts to justify. Each scenario may vary biased on how the whistle-blower is distributing the classified information. However, the whistle-blower should be protected initially before any judgment is made. I believe that everyone has the freedom of speech and they can speak up if any unjust is taking place in a work environment. However, one must be very mindful if they are working for the government, which may cause the nationwide