A whistleblower reports wrongdoing to authorities, or someone in a position of authority. The same could be said of a snitch. ... For example, someone who reports bank fraud to the police, FDIC, or bank board is a whistleblower. The person committing the fraud would probably think of them as a snitch.
However, there are also clauses within the Act that protect whistleblowers. Under the Act, employee complaints about his or her employer breaking, or not following, certain federal laws relating to securities, shareholder fraud, or other types of fraud (wire, mail, or bank), are protected against employer retaliation.
The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(8)-(9), Pub.L. 101-12 as amended, is a United States federal law that protects federal whistleblowers who work for the government and report the possible existence of an activity constituting a violation of law, rules, or regulations, or mismanagement.
On March 4, 2014, in Lawson v. FMR LLC, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this whistleblower protection applies not only to employees of publicly owned companies, but also to employees of privately owned contractors and subcontractors of public companies.
The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 is a law that protects federal government employees in the United States from retaliatory action for voluntarily disclosing information about dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government organization.
