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Practice Areas • Practices • Ohio Whistleblower Protection Act

It's a narrow statute providing only limited protection. Do you qualify? Please read on.

Ohio’s Whistleblower Protection Act—Revised Code Section 4113.52—is supposedly designed to protect employees from retaliation for reporting their employers’ (or fellow employees’) misconduct.

But it's a very narrow statute providing only limited protection in exceedingly rare instances. So it's hard to qualify for the protections.

The law simply makes no sense. It's as if Ohio legislators wanted to claim that they support whistleblowers while not really doing so and imposing way too many hoops.

An employee is eligible for protection (against termination, demotion, transfer, and certain other listed disciplinary actions) if the employee becomes aware of a violation of

  • any federal or state statute, or municipal ordinance or regulation, that

  • the employer has authority to correct, and that

  • the employee reasonably believes

  • is a felony criminal offense, or

  • poses a hazard to public health or safety, or

  • constitutes a felony, or

  • constitutes an improper solicitation for a contribution.

To be protected under the statute, the employee must

  • orally notify his or her supervisor or other responsible company officer, and then must

  • file with that supervisor or officer a detailed written report.

After receiving the oral report, written report, or both, the employer is required, within 24 hours, both

  • to either correct the violation or make a reasonable and good-faith effort to do so and

  • to notify the employee of such correction or efforts to correct.

If the employer doesn't do both these things, the employee may file a detailed written report with one or more of the following:

  • the appropriate prosecuting authority for the county or municipality,

  • a peace officer,

  • the inspector general (if the violation is within his or her jurisdiction), or

  • any other public official or agency with regulatory authority over the employer and the relevant industry.

The Ohio whistleblower statute prohibits an employer from disciplining, or retaliating against, an employee for reporting criminal conduct in the manner the statute authorizes, or for taking steps to ensure the accuracy of the information so reported.

It also authorizes a civil action against the employer.

But the employee only has 180 days from the retaliation) for injunctive and monetary relief, including attorney fees and costs, for violations.

That's not much time. That's one of the shortest statutes of limitations for Ohio civil causes of action.

As we said, it's almost as if Ohio legislators didn't want to provide real protection or meaningful remedies to whistleblowers.

If you wait too long to contact a law firm, there may insufficient time to properly investigate and file a complaint.

Still, the employee may be subject to discipline “for reporting information without a reasonable basis to do so …”

It's hard for most Ohio whistleblowers to meet all of the statute's requirements.

For more detailed analysis, please read our FAQ "What does Ohio's Whistleblower statute protect?"

Chandra Law has represented many whistleblowers over the years.

You may contact our firm if you think, after considering the statute's requirements, you qualify for whistleblower protection.

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