A recent opinion by a federal appeals court illustrates the broad scope of the False Claims Act’s anti-retaliation provisions, which has important implications for whistleblower claims involving “illegal DEI” or other alleged discrimination.
In United States ex rel. Kini v. Tata Consultancy Services, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held August 8 that an employee who was fired after alleging that his employer fraudulently obtained employment-based visas raised a valid retaliation claim even though his fraud claim failed.
The FCA protects employees investigating matters that reasonably could lead to a viable FCA case, the court said, and the FCA may shield the employee from retaliation even if the underlying claim lacks merit. In this case, the employee’s termination soon after his allegation sufficed to support a retaliation claim, according to the court.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.