Government officials, whistleblowers, and advocates will gather on Capitol Hill today to celebrate National Whistleblower Day, an annual event to honor those who have brought truth to light. The Senate has passed a resolution each year since 2013 to designate July 30 as the occasion, marking the date when the first whistleblower law was passed in 1778. The nation has come a long way since then, but has it done enough to protect people brave enough to speak up?
The Continental Congress passed the first whistleblower law at the height of the Revolutionary War. Then, in 1863, during President Abraham Lincoln’s administration, Congress passed the False Claims Act to recover federal funds from government contractors who defrauded governmental programs. “During the Civil War, the law was used to recover monies from unscrupulous contractors who sold the Union Army decrepit horses and mules in ill health, faulty rifles and ammunition, and rancid rations and provisions,” explains a 2012 press release by the Department of Justice. The DOJ was announcing the 25th anniversary of the 1986 amendments to the False Claims Act. Since then, it has recovered more than $78 billion.
In May, Grassley introduced the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Whistleblower Protection Act to provide protections to people who develop and deploy AI. “Currently, AI companies’ restrictive severance and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) create a chilling effect on current and former employees looking to make whistleblower disclosures to the federal government, including Congress.” As AI technology evolves and its handlers move deeper into uncharted territory, everyone working in this arena could be vital to ensuring tech behemoths color inside the lines.
Various other laws have been passed over the years, too, but how much have they helped people after the whistle is blown? These laws don’t seem to address the difficulties faced after whistleblowers come forward. Many are vilified, harassed, or silenced by NDAs, with their careers ruined. Research published in PubMed found whistleblowers often suffer reprisals, frequently leading to “outcomes of sadness, anxiety, and a pervasive loss of sense of worth.” Some become “traumatized by the emotional manipulation many employers routinely use to discredit and punish employees who report misconduct.” Another study discovered that roughly 85% end up with severe anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and agoraphobia symptoms. Nearly half of those who reported having those mental health problems reached clinical levels. To top it all off, more than 60% suffered “declining physical health” and experienced “severe financial decline.” Worse, some take their own lives.
In 2024, John Barnett, a former Boeing employee who spent years warning about the company’s quality and safety issues, was found dead in a hotel parking lot with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Former OpenAI engineer Suchir Balaji, who claimed the practices used to train the AI systems behind ChatGPT violated copyright law, was found dead a few months after he quit last year, an apparent suicide. Of course, it’s difficult to match cause and effect in these scenarios, but they do raise red flags.
Lawmakers like Grassley have certainly done a lot to help protect those willing to risk their careers and even lives to speak out. But stronger legislation may be warranted to quash all forms of retaliation and provide a stronger support system that includes tools necessary to cope with the mental and emotional challenges that often accompany doing the right thing.