Know Your Rights

Whistleblower laws around the world are complex, offering varying levels of protections and awards to those people who come forward to report waste, fraud, and abuse. We have put together resources for everyone from potential whistleblowers to policymakers to journalists to help educate them on major laws, best practices, and more.

The National Whistleblower Center has a wide variety of educational resources available for free online. In order to find the most appropriate resources for your interest or questions, follow the knowledge map below. If you need help or want to contact an attorney, please fill out a confidential intake form. To learn more about how NWC assists whistleblowers, please visit our Find an Attorney page. 

Are you a whistleblower or potential whistleblower living within the U.S.? Scroll down to Section I.

Are you a whistleblower or potential whistleblower living outside the U.S.? Scroll down to Section II.

Are you a policymaker living within the U.S.? Scroll down to Section III.

Are you a policymaker living outside the U.S.? Scroll down to Section IV.

Are you a journalist interested in learning more about whistleblowers? Scroll down to Section V.

Section I: U.S. Whistleblowers

The United States has been a leading influence in enacting whistleblower laws with key protections and incentives, including confidential handling of disclosures, financial awards, and independent reporting channels. Currently, there are dozens of laws at the federal, state, and local levels designed to encourage whistleblowers to come forward.

Protections and incentives vary from industry to industry as well on a state and local level. That’s why it’s important to educate yourself before blowing the whistle. We have educational resources for whistleblowers who work in various industries, who have witnessed specific kinds of fraud, and more.

For extended guidance and information, consult Rules for Whistleblower: A Handbook for Doing What’s Right, written by the nation’s leading whistleblower attorney, NWC Board Chairman Stephen Kohn.

General Resources

Do you want to learn more about the key U.S. federal laws available to whistleblowers?

Learn More About Your Rights

Do you want to learn more about whistleblower protections on a state level?

Learn More About Your Rights

Do you want to learn more about general guidance for whistleblowers, including deadlines for programs, when NDAs are illegal, and more?

Learn More About Your Rights

Industry Specific Guidance

Are you a whistleblower working for a publicly traded company?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower working in the fossil fuel industry, timber industry, or another industry related to climate change?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower working for the U.S. government?

Learn More About Your Rights

Guidance by Type of Fraud

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of a high-level financial crime like money laundering?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of tax fraud?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of securities or commodities fraud?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of government contract fraud, including false statements on applications and customs forms?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of bribery or improper accounting?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of wildlife crime?

Learn More About Your Rights

Section II: Whistleblowers Outside the U.S.

There has been a growing global interest in establishing whistleblower laws over the past several decades. Whistleblower protections have now been enacted in at least 59 countries. Without adequate protections and rewards, however, many laws still fall short of supporting effective whistleblowing, though there are promising efforts underway in the European Union as well as other countries to remedy this.

For whistleblowers outside the U.S. who are currently without adequate protections in their own country, many have the option to report under powerful U.S. federal laws with broad transnational applications. Non-U.S. whistleblowers are eligible for the same protections and rewards as whistleblowers within the U.S.

We have educational resources for whistleblowers who want to learn more about the legal protections in their country, who are interested in learning more about reporting under U.S. law, who have witnessed specific kinds of fraud, and more.

General Resources

Do you want to learn more about the current whistleblower laws that exist in countries around the world?

Learn More About Your Rights

Do you want to learn more about how you can report under U.S. law?

Learn More About Your Rights

Do you want to learn more about general guidance for whistleblowers reporting under U.S. law, including deadlines for programs, when NDAs are illegal, and more?

Learn More About Your Rights

Do you want to learn more about political asylum for whistleblowers?

Learn More About Your Rights

Guidance by Type of Fraud

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of transnational crime like trafficking or smuggling?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of a high-level financial crime like money laundering?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of tax fraud committed by a company that has operations in the U.S. or a group of individuals who reside within the U.S.?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of securities or commodities fraud committed by a company that has operations in the U.S. – even if the crime occurred elsewhere?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of U.S. government contract fraud, including false statements on applications and customs forms?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of bribery or improper accounting committed by a company that has operations in the U.S.?

Learn More About Your Rights

Are you a whistleblower with evidence of wildlife crime?

Learn More About Your Rights

Section III: Policymakers in the U.S.

The United States has been a leading influence in enacting whistleblower laws with key protections and incentives, including confidential handling of disclosures, financial awards, and independent reporting channels. Currently, there are dozens of laws at the federal, state, and local levels designed to encourage whistleblowers to come forward.

We have educational resources for policymakers about the current legal protections that exist in the U.S., what constitutes best practices for whistleblower laws, what can be done to strengthen current programs, and more.

NWC’s Action Alert Network advocates for vital whistleblower legal protections to support the brave individuals who take tremendous risks to expose fraud, waste, and abuse. You can join the NWC Action Alert Network here. 

Current Legal Protections

Do you want to learn more about the key U.S. federal laws available to whistleblowers?

Learn More

Do you want to learn more about the transnational applications of key U.S. federal laws?

Learn More

Do you want to learn more about whistleblower protections on a state level?

Learn More

Best Practices for Whistleblower Laws

Do you want to learn more about best practices for whistleblower laws?

Learn More

Do you want to learn more about why rewards are an important part of any successful whistleblower program?

Learn More

Do you want to learn more about the impact whistleblowers have had?

Learn More

How to Strengthen Current Programs

Do you want to learn about what can be done to strengthen the government’s coronavirus response?

Learn More

Do you want to learn about what can be done to strengthen protections for securities whistleblowers?

Learn More

Do you want to learn about what can be done to strengthen protections for banking whistleblowers?

Learn More

Do you want to learn about what can be done to strengthen protections for tax whistleblowers?

Learn More

Do you want to learn about what can be done to strengthen protections for federal employee whistleblowers?

Learn More

Do you want to learn about how to strengthen the U.S.’s anti-money laundering strategy?

Learn More

Do you want to learn about how to strengthen the U.S.’s anti-wildlife trafficking strategy?

Learn More

Do you want to learn about why Congress should permanently recognize National Whistleblower Day on July 30th?

Learn More

Section IV: Policymakers Outside the U.S.

There has been a growing global interest in establishing whistleblower laws over the past several decades. Whistleblower protections have been enacted in at least 59 countries, and currently there are promising efforts underway in the European Union as well as others to enact new protections and strengthen existing ones. However, many laws still fall short of supporting effective whistleblowing as they lack adequate protections and rewards.

We have educational resources for policymakers about the legal protections available throughout the world, the successes of the current U.S. whistleblower programs, best practices for whistleblower laws, and more.

Current Legal Protections

Do you want to learn more about the current whistleblower laws that exist in countries around the world?

Learn More

Do you want to learn more about the transnational applications of key U.S. federal laws?

Learn More

Do you want to learn more about the key U.S. federal laws available to whistleblowers around the world?

Learn More

Best Practices for Whistleblower Laws

Do you want to learn more about best practices for whistleblower laws?

Learn More

Do you want to learn more about why rewards are an important part of any successful whistleblower program?

Learn More

Do you want to learn more about why many of the common myths about whistleblowers are false?

Learn More

Do you want to learn more about the impact whistleblowers have had around the world?

Learn More

Section V: Journalists

Most journalists are familiar with whistleblowers from working with anonymous sources.
Whistleblowers are protected by a network of laws, but the level of protection depends on what they disclose, to whom, and how. It may not always be in the whistleblower’s interest to work with the press. Journalists working with insiders, or covering them, will produce stronger stories and treat sources more fairly if they know how whistleblowing works.

Do you have a potential whistleblower as a source, but want to know more about how whistleblowing works?

Learn More

Do you understand the difference between leaking and whistleblowing?

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Do you know when an NDA is legally binding?

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