A whistleblower can be defined as a person who reveals any wrongdoings or malpractices that are taking place within an organization. These revelations could be made either to the general public or to those who are in a position of authority. A whistleblower can make a disclosure of corruption, mismanagement, illegal activities or any other wrongdoing.

For a while now the public recognition and value for whistle blowing has been on a marked rise. This is giving more and more people the strength and courage to come forward and blow the whistle exposing illegal activities that could otherwise have gone unnoticed. There are Federal as well as State regulations and statutes that have been put in place in order to protect whistleblowers from any kind of retaliation that they might have to face.

It is an unavoidable fact that persons who step up as whistleblowers are often the faced with retaliation from their employers. In a typical case the employer will fire the whistleblower, who is quite often an employee who is termed as an at-will employee. Such an employee is a person who does not have a specific term of employment. The at-will employee has the liberty to quit at any given time but at the same time a flip side is that the employer also has the right to fire him without having to give any reason. Now however, there is no need to worry as the legislatures and courts have created exceptions for those whistleblowers who are in fact at-will employees. Whistleblowers are now protected by statutes and can thus combat any discrimination that an employee might show him in the face of the accusations. Today if you are faced with any irregularities or illegal activities in your organization know that you have the power to do the right thing and be the whistleblower.