When a whistleblower lawsuit is filed against a company or practice, it is common for many of the warnings to be ignored or not handled properly. Most of the time, wrongdoing is uncovered internally first and handling the problem properly can prevent lawsuits.
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Often, employees who become whistleblowers try to raise the issue internally before going outside the company.
There is also fear of retaliation by many complainants. Fear of reprisal may lead employees to report misconduct to the board or outside entity.
So how do you avoid the whistleblower problem?
While it’s impossible to guarantee that you’ll never have a whistleblower lawsuit, you can take steps to ensure your employees’ concerns are acknowledged.
First, make sure your employees have multiple ways to raise their concerns, including anonymous options.
As part of your regular compliance training, make sure your employees are aware of all the ways to raise concerns and tell them about you want to them to express concern. If your employees raise their concerns, it can help you improve your practice, patient care and work relationships.
Let the employee know that you take the matter seriously and will fully investigate and, if necessary, address the matter.
When we work with practices and companies regarding their compliance plans, policies and procedures, or employee handbooks, we make sure to apply robust internal reporting methods.
Emphasize the importance of open communication to your employees and then carry out. You can’t expect your employees to trust you if you don’t take the time to really listen and address concerns.
Busy practices often have attorneys investigate and address employee concerns, to gain impartiality and attorney client privileges. It also lets your employees know that you take their concerns seriously, when outsiders are brought in to investigate.
Having open communication with your employees will lead to better working relationships and a better company overall.
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