US Practice Guide

A guide to U.S. whistleblower laws for lawyers representing clients from outside the U.S.

Overview of Whistleblower Laws

In the U.S. there is no general law that applies to all whistleblowers. Rather, there are a collection of laws that apply to whistleblowers depending on the type of conduct they wish to report. For the most part, whistleblower laws in the U.S. do not offer protection from retaliation for non-U.S. citizens who are working outside the U.S. However, the U.S. does allow non-U.S. citizens from outside the U.S. to claim whistleblower rewards, which are monetary payments for reporting violations of U.S. law.

What are whistleblower rewards?

Almost unique to the U.S., whistleblowers can receive payments from the U.S. government for providing information on legal violations. When a whistleblower reports a violation, several laws provide that the whistleblower is entitled to claim a percentage of any fine recovered as a result of their reporting. For example:

Whistleblowers providing information on fraud or corruption at public companies can receive 10-30% of any fine collected. The average payout is ~$5 million USD.
Whistleblowers reporting tax fraud can receive 15-30% of the amount recovered.
Whistleblowers reporting fraud in the sale of commodities can receive 10-30% of the fine recovered.
Whistleblowers reporting bribery of foreign officials by U.S.-listed companies can receive 10-30% of the fines recovered.
Whistleblowers reporting fraud against the U.S. government can recover 15-30% of the fines imposed.

What whistleblower laws are most likely to apply to foreigners?

The law which is most likely to affect non-U.S. citizens is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The FCPA is a U.S. law that prohibits the payment of bribes to foreign officials. The FCPA applies to any person or company that does business in the United States and can result in criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment for up to 10 years per violation.

Importantly, reporting FCPA violations can result in whistleblower awards for non-U.S. citizens.

Can foreigners bring retaliation claims for whistleblowing against US companies?

Unfortunately, most whistleblower laws provide protection against retaliation only to individuals living or working in the U.S. As a result, non-U.S. citizens who are living abroad are generally unable to bring actions against U.S. companies for retaliation that occurred outside of the U.S.

Want to learn more?

If you have other questions about whistleblower laws in the U.S. and you are a member of the IAWL, feel free to contact the US Practice Manager, John Joy with your question.