How to Handle a Whistleblower Retaliation Investigation (From Start to Finish)

Why Should You Attend:

Retaliation complaints are increasing in business and organizations. Retaliatory activities may be an indicator that an organization needs a stronger, more credible ethics program. Over the last two years, whistleblower retaliation claims have become far more prevalent and the organizational costs are staggering.

This webinar will showcase a real-life retaliation investigation from start to finish. It will look at retaliation beginning with the media exposure of the fraud ($2.3 million in government funds); the response of management and co-workers; the types of retaliatory activities that were documented; the complaint process; the investigation; and the substantiation result. The webinar will examine the details of this case in order to determine appropriate steps to handle retaliation in large and small organizations. Examining the details of a real-life case study of whistleblower retaliation, participants will learn to recognize and prevent retaliation. Additional protections to encourage employees to report wrongdoing will also be discussed.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Research data on retaliation statistics from the Ethics Research Council
• Recognizing the red flags of retaliation
• Real-life case study on a substantiated retaliation investigation
• Strategies for preventing retaliation before it becomes a major threat
• Strategies for handling allegations of retaliation
• Strategies to safeguard the workplace

Who Will Benefit:

• Managers and supervisors
• Internal auditors, investigators
• Corporate compliance officers
• Corporate counsel officers and attorneys
• Human resource directors
• Risk management officers
• Ombudspersons
• Whistleblower liaisons, attorneys, and advocates

Instructor Profile:

Amy Block Joy, has a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and worked for the University of California for 33 years. As a faculty member and program director at UC Davis in 2006, she discovered apparent embezzlement in her government grant funds and reported it to her supervisor. When her report was ignored, she blew the whistle alerting her organizational authorities. Her internal report of alleged wrongdoing unleashed a chain of terrifying events that almost ended her career. Over a five year timeframe, she was involved as a witness in three investigations ($2.3 million in fraud was substantiated); a subject of three investigations (she was cleared of all alleged wrongdoing); and a target of retaliation (which was investigated and substantiated). She has published two books on these real-life cases to encourage increased safeguards in the workplace: Whistleblower (Bay Tree Publishing, California, 2010) and Retaliation (CreateSpace Publishing Platform, South Caroline, 2013). Currently, Amy Block Joy is an Emeritus, instructor, author, speaker on institutional ethics, and teaches an undergraduate ethics class at UC Davis.

Topic Background:

According to the 2011 National Business Ethics Survey (NBES) Supplementary Report (“Retaliation: When Whistleblowers Become Victims”) more than 22% of those who reported misconduct in 2011, perceived retaliation for doing so. This translates to 2.3 million more workers than reported retaliation in 2009. This trend continued in 2013 with 21% of respondents claiming retaliation. As reported in the NBES 2013 report: “High retaliation rates are especially worrisome because they discourage reporting and make it harder to identify and root out bad behavior”.

In “The High Cost of Whistleblower Retaliation: Why Institutions Should Prevent It”, published by Compliance and Ethics Professional in July/August 2013, data is presented to show how retaliation can become a major threat to the ethical culture of an institution.

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