Under the Collar

Early in our democracy, the government recognized the importance of incentivizing private citizens to report government fraud and abuse. The False Claims Act was enacted during the Civil War to help catch and punish contractors supplying the Union army with shoddy goods. Qui tam, or whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act, put a civilian in the place of the government and permit actions on the government’s behalf. Whistleblower laws not only permit a percentage-based recovery for that individual if the action is successful, but protect the whistleblower from ...