This casebook contains 68 federal court of appeals decisions that interpret and apply statutory provisions that protect whistleblowers. The selection of decisions spans from 2000 through 2011 and is organized by circuit. The decisions are listed in the order of frequency of citation. The most cited decisions appear higher in each section.
Where a plaintiff claims that he was wrongfully discharged for "reporting violations of law or public policy to his superiors, commonly referred to as 'whistleblowing,'" the plaintiff "must show that he reported to superiors or to public authorities serious misconduct that constitutes a violation of the law and of well established and clearly mandated public policy." Id. (internal quotations, alteration, and citation omitted). The plaintiff's
mere citation of a constitutional or statutory provision in a pleading is not by itself sufficient to state a cause of action for retaliatory discharge, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the public policy mandated by the cited provision is violated by the discharge. Generally, there is no whistleblowing protection for an employee who merely disagrees personally with an employer's legally-allowed policy.
Frevert v. Ford Motor Co., 614 F. 3d 466 (8th Cir. 2010)
Where a plaintiff claims that he was wrongfully discharged for "reporting violations of law or public policy to his superiors, commonly referred to as 'whistleblowing,'" the plaintiff "must show that he reported to superiors or to public authorities serious misconduct that constitutes a violation of the law and of well established and clearly mandated public policy." Id. (internal quotations, alteration, and citation omitted). The plaintiff's
mere citation of a constitutional or statutory provision in a pleading is not by itself sufficient to state a cause of action for retaliatory discharge, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the public policy mandated by the cited provision is violated by the discharge. Generally, there is no whistleblowing protection for an employee who merely disagrees personally with an employer's legally-allowed policy.
Frevert v. Ford Motor Co., 614 F. 3d 466 (8th Cir. 2010)
