The underlying purpose of whistleblower protection laws is to allow employees to stop, report or testify about employer actions which are illegal, unhealthy or violate specific public policies. However, one of the most hotly contested issues in whistleblower law is the exact definition of protected whistleblower activity.
Some states have very narrow definitions while others are very broad.
An employee or his or her attorney should throughly research the state law regarding the definition for his or her state. The first step in reviewing a whistleblower claim is to determine what statutes or common law actions may provide a remedy. A case may be covered under more than one whistleblower protection provision. Depending upon whom one works for and in which state one is employed, the nature and scope of whistleblower protection is varied. In addition to explicit whistleblower protection laws, employees may also be protected under traditional tort or contract for damages resulting from retaliation for whistleblowing.