Whistleblowing in Today’s Society

Abstract

Whistleblowing has been taking place in the United States since the American Revolution. Whistleblowing can and does occur in various contexts: government, environment, public health and safety, and accounting. Some of the benefits of whistleblowing are that it can help shape laws and regulations, can improve public safety and can protect investors. This paper discusses several recent instances of whistleblowing and focuses on the SEC Whistleblower Program. Several high dollar amount whistleblower awards are discussed. Results of our analysis indicate that whistleblowing is prevalent in many aspects of today's society. While the United States has some protections for whistleblowers, there is more that could be done in the U.S. and elsewhere to further encourage whistleblowing.