If you are retaliated against for blowing the whistle on your employer, you are entitled to two times the amount of backpay (which is the wages you would have been paid if there had been no retaliation) plus interest. Federal law also allows you to recover special damages that were caused by the retaliation. Special damages can include emotional distress, litigation costs, and attorney’s fees.
When an employee has been fired as the result of retaliation, the False Claims Act also requires that the whistleblower be reinstated “with the same seniority status.” In some cases, reinstatement is not a great solution due to hostility and distrust that has developed between the whistleblower and the employer, and it may be possible to obtain front pay or lost future earnings instead of reinstatement. Front pay is designed to provide an employee with funds for a period of time until the employee can find similar employment elsewhere.