Any employee who discovers wrongdoing that violates the FCA is protected from being:
discharged,
demoted,
suspended,
threatened,
harassed, or
in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment by his or her employer because of lawful acts done by the employee on behalf of his employer or others in furtherance of an FCA action.
The anti-retaliation provision was modeled after other whistleblower laws and operates under the basic principles underlying employment discrimination cases. The scope of whistleblower protection, however, is an issue that currently divides the courts. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently resolving the issue of when an FCA retaliation lawsuit must be filed: whether the deadline is the 6-year filing deadline applicable to other FCA lawsuits, or subject to the state filing deadline applicable to other employment cases.
In addition, many states have wrongful discharge or other employment laws that may provide remedies for such discrimination. You may wish to speak with an attorney in your state to learn about such state laws.
The statute of limitations to file a claim for retaliation under the False Claims Act is three years. See the National Whistleblower Center’s website for more information. The retaliation lawsuit must be filed three years from the date the retaliation took place.