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We are a father and son, both whistleblowers; one
from industry and the other from government. We have experienced the satisfaction
of doing something that was morally right -- blowing-the-whistle -- and both experienced
workplace retaliation for our actions against fraud, waste, and abuse. We also have
extensive experiences in what it means to try to pursue justice through Federal
and State Court systems, seeking whistle-blowing protection and to make us "whole"
again.
We have constructed this site so those who have blown-the-whistle, and those who
are thinking about whether to do it, will have a place to seek the type of free
information that could only come from experienced whistle-blowers who are motivated
to share with others what they have learned in "the real world". This
will apply to public sector as well as private sector employees. In so doing, we
hope to help others make the best decisions that are right for their circumstances.
We have included a page called"Our
Stories" that gives a brief description of our whistleblowing. The purpose
of doing so, is not to highlight, focus upon, or dwell upon what our situations
were; rather, only to demonstrate to you we have "been there" --
"done that"!
The Father's whistleblowing case has now come to a final conclusion, with the refusal of the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case (denial of Certiorari) . The Father's statement about this event can be read by clicking here.
In 1998, after we had created this Father & Son whistleblowing
website, we thought about devising what we would call a Whistleblowing Self Inventory
Analysis. This was to be a self questioning, in the privacy of one's home, for
the purpose of a person determining whether or not to blow the whistle, and how
well they might cope with the aftermath of such an action. Before completing the
Whistleblowing Self Inventory analysis, we wanted to first gain the experience of
the kind of situations other whistleblowers face and how they reacted to them. After
receiving hundreds of E-mails from all over the United States (and some from persons
in other countries), describing their situations, we experienced ourselves a sort
of "awakening" to the reality that whistleblowing is often a spontaneous action/reaction
to a workplace situation, and the whistleblower is often already so involved that
our attempting to apply some sort of self-analysis would often not only be a "too
little-too late" situation, but could result in misleading conclusions being formulated
by the whistleblower. Remember the old saying: "If only we could really see ourselves
as others see us!" Additionally, some persons might unknowingly answer a self-analysis
question one way because that is how they see themselves, whereas, the reality may
be just the opposite. Thus, there could be some "danger" in a self-analysis, and
it could lead to undesirable consequences. Added to that was the fact that we found
ample general information for whistleblowers on numerous other websites.
So we concluded that we should abandon trying to produce a self analysis and should
communicate with whistleblowers on a one-to-one basis as the best approach; thereby
permitting us to provide comments and suggestions appropriate to the specific Whistleblower's
situation and the Whistleblower's circumstances. That "formula" has now worked successfully
over many years, and we now feel is the best approach for us. So, if you are concerned
about a potential or actual whistleblowing situation and/or have a question in that
subject area, let us hear from you by E-mail and we will do our best to share with
you our knowledge, our experience, and our thoughts.
First,
let us observe/acknowledge that there may be a number of ways to spell the word
such as:
Whistleblowing
Whistle blowing
Whistle-blowing
(Please note that our preference for the spelling is: "Whistleblowing".)
Our definition is as follows:
"Whistleblowing" is a verbal and/or written communication,
to a Person, Organization, or Activity,
which is in the Public Sector (Government - local, state, or federal) or
Private Sector (Business/Industry/Non-government),
the purpose of such communication being to expose and/or inform upon,
alleged wrongdoing (fraud, theft, etc.), or discrimination (race, religion, national
origin, gender, etc.), or retaliation, or some other type adverse occurrence that
violates a law, or a regulation, or a policy, or morals, or ethics, or decency,
and especially those matters that endanger public health and/or public safety.
Perhaps we are somewhat unique, but not long after
we started our web site, we conceived that our whistleblowing experiences should
be put to good use by interacting on a one-on-one basis with whistleblowers, actual
and those contemplating, so we could share our knowledge and interact with whistleblowers'
individual, and specific to them, circumstances. We have received thousands of E-mails
from all over the United States, from private and public sector employees and fired
employees. (We also hear from students in the U.S. and foreign countries studying
ethics/whistleblowing and we are immensely pleased to help them, because we firmly
believe classroom academic education is one of the keys to resolution of Society's
workplace problems regarding whistleblowing.) We treasure the few "God Bless you"
E-mails that we received over the years, after our final response to some
whistleblowers with whom we have communicated. We don't identify ourselves by name
nor provide phone numbers on our web site, to purposely keep people from spending
money calling, spending money to duplicate lengthy documents of their case to send
by mail to us, or in any way causing any expense to us or to those who contact us
by E-mail. We give of our time and our knowledge freely, to quietly, without fanfare,
try to help people see facts and circumstances they may have overlooked, or through
their passion/emotion for their whistleblowing cases end up in effect self-destructing
themselves for life. We have tried at this web site to project sincerity, and we
think we have been successful because many people in "delicate" work situations
read our site and in their very first E-mail to us reveal their names, addresses,
and telephone numbers. Although we do not need that data, we must know what State
in the USA the whistleblowing situation occurred and what State the whistleblower
lives in now. (Often that is a factor in the preciseness of our comments).
So we have deliberately chosen not to strap on a sword, nor to mount upon a white
horse like a gallant warrior of old, nor to publicly yell "charge"
and go into battle; not because we have no courage, but because we believe that
a sort of "quiet diplomacy" and a "calm and mature" sounding board is what
many whistleblowers need in the initial stages of their whistleblowing problems.
We leave to the capable hands of others the "frontal assault" on the evils of employer
retaliation. We work on that problem in other "quiet ways" not connected with our
Father and Son Site. We do not join with other whistleblowers in "battle" because
at this stage we want to devote our time and our talents to individual help.
Resolution of the "ills in our Society" is a long term proposition at best; but
a multitude of whistleblowers need a personal and private "sounding board," so to
speak, right now, and we try to fill that void. Just as we respect those who "organize
for battle" and go forth to so do, we sincerely hope that they will respect the
methodology we have chosen, so as to maximize being of timely help to those in greatest
need.
We have given you the foregoing explanation so that you will understand why there
are no links on our web site to other sites. We have a whole array of useful private
sector whistleblowing web sites and some public sector Government Information web
sites that we use in our E-mails (as hyperlinks) that we give to those who communicate
with us, but first we tailor the list so the whistleblower can go to the sites that
will help further him or her in their particular case. Often times we research some
aspect raised by the whistleblower and give them the results in our reply, and they
are very grateful for the time we spent on their problem; at no cost whatsoever
to them. We want people to stop at our website and talk to us, not link out right
away to other places searching for something that they are not sure even fits their
problem nor understanding what they really need to look for. Our "formula" for interacting
with whistleblowers we think works well, and we are hopeful over time that our Father
and Son effectiveness will be publicized through word-of-mouth by those we have
helped, and our reputation for being ethical and competent will grow by that means.
We hope that this information has shed some light
on our modus operandi, so to speak, and in the event you do not agree with our methodology
you will have at least the facts by which to have seen what may be "the other side
of the coin" or "the rest of the whistleblowing story."
Our best wishes to you and again our thanks for stopping by.
Whistleblowing
is sometimes like
climbing a mountain with
a heavy load on one's back. Success at such
an endeavor can only be possible from knowing
where one is going and
how best
to get there!
Please let us hear from you if you have a Whistleblowing question or situation:
Privacy Information: When you communicate with us, we will not share, sell, trade, rent, or give your E-mail address or your personal details to anyone.
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DO NOT USE OUR GUESTBOOK TO ASK US ANY QUESTION(s) -- USE E-MAIL FOR THAT.
If, after looking
at our website, you are motivated to publicly share any thoughts/comments
with others who will visit this website, then please click on the "View/Sign
GuestBook" button/link below, to go to our
for the public GuestBook; and there, click on the "Sign GuestBook"
link and place your comments, for the whole world to see, on the form
that appears.
We thank you in advance for your views.
NOTE: If you attempt to write any comment in the GuestBook that is not written in the English language, regrettably the Father & Son must delete it. If you are not an attorney, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PUT ANY ADVERTISING IN OUR GUESTBOOK. IF YOU DO WE WILL FILE A COMPLAINT WITH YOUR E-MAIL/INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER. The Father and Son
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