Opinion ID: 2976710
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whistleblower Act

Text: The Ohio Whistleblower Act prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee who reports the employer’s wrongdoing. Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.52. Unless the wrongdoing consists of the commission of one of a limited class of criminal offenses (not at issue in this case), in order to be protected by the Whistleblower Act, the employee must notify her supervisor both orally and in writing of the wrongdoing to allow the employer the opportunity to rectify the situation. Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.52(A). The employee must also file suit within 180 days of the employer’s retaliatory action in order to recover civil damages. Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.52(D). Despite the existence of statutory enforcement measures within the act itself, Ohio courts recognize the public policy favoring whistleblowing embodied in Ohio’s Whistleblower Act as a basis for a common law wrongful discharge in violation of public policy claim. Kulch v. Structural Fibers, Inc., 677 N.E.2d 308, 322 (Ohio 1997). Ohio courts have interpreted the public policy expressed by the Whistleblower Act narrowly, reasoning that: “[b]y imposing strict and detailed requirements on certain whistleblowers and restricting the statute’s applicability to a narrow set of circumstances, the legislature clearly intended to encourage whistleblowing only to the extent that 9 No. 07-3801 the employee complies with the dictates of R.C. 4113.52.” Id. at 322-23. As a result, an employee who has not complied with the statute’s reporting or procedural requirements may not base a Greeley claim upon the policy embodied in the Whistleblower Act. See Contreras v. Ferro Corp., 652 N.E.2d 940, 946 (Ohio 1995). In the instant case, it is uncontested that Avery did not comply with the Whistleblower Act’s requirements for reporting and filing suit. Avery did not file a written report regarding the alleged cover-up of the November 5, 2004 delivery, nor did she bring suit under the Whistleblower Act within 180 days of her discharge from the Hospital. As a result, Avery cannot base her wrongful discharge action upon the Whistleblower Act, and the only viable basis for her Greeley claim is the Hospital’s violation of the public policy against the falsification of medical records.