Your Rights

protection for whistleblower activities

In Texas, the employer-employee relationship is governed by the at-will doctrine.  This means that most employees may be terminated at any time, for any reason, or for no reason at all.  However, various federal and state statutory protections apply that address specific subject areas.  Under these statutory protections, an employer may not terminate an employee for exercising certain rights such as raising complaints about unlawful or unsafe working conditions.

What texas laws protect whistleblowers?

Hospital Employee Whistleblower (Tex. Health & Safety Code §161.134): Protects hospital employees who report illegal activity or violations of patient care standards.

Nursing Home Whistleblower (Texas Health & Safety Code § 242.133): Protects employees of nursing homes who report incidents of abuse or neglect of residents to state licensing authorities.

Agricultural Hazard Communications Protection (Tex. Agric. Code §§ 125.001, 125.013): Protects employees from discharge for exercising their rights to seek information concerning exposure to hazardous chemicals in the agrarian workplace.

Texas Whistleblower Act (Texas Gov’t Code § 554.001): Protects state and local government employees from being terminated or retaliated against for making a good faith report of the violation of law to the appropriate authority).

The Texas Hazard Communication Act (Texas Health & Safety Code § 502.017(b)): Protects employees who file a complaint about hazardous chemicals in the workplace, assist an inspector, institute a proceeding, or otherwise exercises a right under the Act.

What federal laws protect whistleblowers?

Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX): Protects employees who report a violation of mail, wire, bank or securities fraud statutes; any SEC rule or regulation or (3) any provision of federal law relating to fraud against shareholders.

Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA): Protects drivers, including employees and independent contractors, who file complaints about commercial motor vehicle safety, who refuse to operate a vehicle because to do so would violate a federal commercial motor vehicle rule related to safety, health, or security, or because they have a reasonable apprehension of serious injury for themselves or the public.

Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (PSIA): protects employees of owners and operators of pipeline facilities and employees of their contractors and subcontractors who complain about violations of federal pipeline safety law.

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21): Protects employees of motor vehicle manufacturers, part suppliers, and dealerships who have provided information to their employer or the U.S. Department of Transportation about motor vehicle defects, noncompliance, or violations of the notification or reporting requirements enforced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA): Protects employees of manufacturers, private labelers, distributors, and retailers who report alleged violations of any law or regulation within the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to the employer, the Federal government, or a state attorney general; or for refusing to perform assigned tasks that the employee reasonably believes would violate CPSC requirements.

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA): Protects employees of food manufacturers, distributors, packers, and transporters who report a violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or a regulation promulgated under the Act. Employees are also protected from retaliation for refusing to participate in a practice that violates the Act.

Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA): Protects employees performing tasks related to consumer financial products or services who report reasonably perceived violations of any provision of Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act or any other provision of law that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, or any rule, order, standard, or prohibition prescribed by the Bureau.

Additional Resources

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Examples of Possible whistleblower violations

Hospital patient care concerns

You are a nurse at a hospital and you reported concerns about patients being exposed to risk of harm, failure to conform to professional standards, or staffing concerns. Soon after you were terminated from your employment. You believe that you were terminated because of your report.

shareholder fraud

You are an accountant at a publicly traded company. You have expressed concerns that the company is not preparing financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. You are concerned that the financial reports are misleading. After making your report, your employer demoted you to another position. You believe that you were demoted because of your reported concerns.

unsafe vehicle

You are a truck driver and are transporting gravel. You are having difficulty steering the vehicle because the steering mechanism has a defect. As a result it is difficult to keep the vehicle straight on the road. You let the company owner know, and he orders you to keep driving the truck. You refuse because you are afraid that you or others could be seriously injured if there is an accident. The owner terminates your employment and hires someone else to drive the truck.

unsafe products

You are an engineer that works for an automobile part manufacturer. You reasonably believe that there is a defect in the part that could result in potentially dangerous consequences. You make an internal report to management, but they ignore your concerns. You are terminated shortly thereafter. You believe that you were terminated for the report.