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After many years, the legal provisions regarding persons reporting irregularities have been formally and in detail regulated by the European Union, which on October 23, 2019, presented a directive on the protection of Whistleblowers. All member states were obliged to implement it by December 17, 2021, but in many countries, legislative work at the government level is still ongoing. The aforementioned directive is not the first legal document regulating the issue of Whistleblower safety.
What is the history of the law protecting Whistleblowers in the world?
The first law in history focusing on the safety and activity of Whistleblowers was drafted in 1912. It was called the "Lloyd-La Follette Act" and gave government officials the right to contact Congress directly or members of both houses' committees about violations.
Subsequent laws were implemented in the 1970s due to the occurrence of many situations violating the safety of Whistleblowers. The protection of Whistleblowers and the extension of their rights in connection with the disclosure of criminal situations have become very important issues. Between 1972 and 1976, three laws were passed in the United States that provided legal guarantees to individuals who disclosed corporate violations. Their goal was to minimize abuses and prevent corruption, tax fraud, money laundering, and breaking the provisions of the Labor Code.
Another important piece of legislation for Whistleblowers was the one from 1998 published by the UK government. At that time, the act called the "Public Interest Disclosure Act" was signed, guaranteeing the safety of people reporting irregularities in good faith. Due to this document, employees were able to stop being afraid of retaliation by their superiors and colleagues.
In turn, in 2002, the US Congress passed a document that defined financial practices and corporate order. The implementation of the act was a consequence of the dishonesty of companies such as Enron or WorldCom. At that time, the related scandals had a very strong impact on the US economy and resulted in a decline in investor confidence in financial entities. The purpose of the act was to counter monetary embezzlement and restore the lost trust in this type of institution.
What was the beginning of the law protecting Whistleblowers in Poland?
The history of the law protecting Whistleblowers is not long and is a consequence of the entry into force of the Directive of the European Parliament and the Council (EU) in 2019. Its introduction was related to repeated non-compliance by employers with the protection of persons who reported irregularities. Currently, the directive regulates, for example, the status of Whistleblowers, methods of reporting breaches, issues of remedial action, and protection of the confidentiality of Whistleblowers' identities. Indeed, the Polish law has not yet been approved by the Parliament, but employers are already covered by the generally applicable laws of the directive. Therefore, it is worthwhile for entrepreneurs to fulfill their obligations and provide their company with a safe and legally compliant system for managing Wistleblowers’ reports.
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