A plaintiff alleges that his former employer fired him in retaliation for becoming a whistleblower in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA)

The FCA allows an employee whistleblower protection when reporting evidence of fraud to the federal government.

Oftentimes whistleblower protection comes into play when preventing companies from firing employees for taking issue with any alleged illegal conduct the employee witnessed, especially in regards to committing fraud against the federal government.

While the federal government can also file a False Claims Act (FCA) or qui tam lawsuit for fraud, the FCA also provides whistleblower protection to individuals. According to federal law, whistleblower protection includes shielding individuals from:

• Termination
• Blacklisting
• Demoting
• Denying Overtime or Promotion
• Unfair Discipline
• Denying Benefits
• Company fails to Hire or Rehire
• Making Threats
• Reassignment that affects Promotion Potential
• Reducing Pay or Hours

These activities are illegal under the False Claims Act.

The FCA was designed to help protect individuals from retaliation from companies to keep them from exposing their conduct to the federal government. Under the Act, companies can face legal action and penalties for any retaliation acts against the individual reporting the fraud, or discussing the alleged fraud with company officials. This was allegedly the case with a Michigan man, who is filing legal action alleging his former employer had violated federal whistleblower protection policies and Michigan state law.

Overview of Whistleblower Retaliation Lawsuit

Plaintiff Todd W. alleges that even though his job should have been preserved under federal whistleblower protection policy, Acell Inc. allegedly still fired him under wrongful termination conditions. According to his qui tam lawsuit, Todd had begun his employment at Acell Inc. as an Account Representative in 2013.

During his employment, Todd says he had an excellent sales record and always conducted himself in a professional manner and had always performed his occupational duties to the best of his ability. This also included attending sales meeting and other work related seminars, which is where Todd reportedly learned that his supervisor and management were promoting off label marketing statements for certain products.

Due to the fact that Acell Inc. manufactures products regulated by the FDA, marketing these products for off label purposes is illegal, alleges the plaintiff, and can only be prescribed by healthcare professionals. Todd says that this conduct could have caused healthcare providers to participate in Medicare fraud, by submitting false claims to the United States Government.

According to the qui tam lawsuit, Todd had informed his employer that he had proof that his supervisors was engaged in illegal marketing practices and that he was under a legal obligation to inform the federal government and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights on Jan. 18, 2018.

Not long after on Feb. 22, 2018, Todd was reportedly terminated for threatening to report these illegal actions. In addition to allegedly being fired in retaliation for reporting the conduct, Todd had also allegedly suffered racial and age discrimination from Acell Inc.

Todd ultimately alleges there was no legal basis for his termination, and is seeking over $75,000 in damages.

This Whistleblower Protection Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-11004-MOB-DRG, in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Michigan, Southern Division.