In Search of a Model for the Legal Protection of a Whistleblower in the Workplace in Poland. A legal and comparative study. Lukasz Bolesta

      This publication has been peer reviewed by Teresa Wyka

      ISSN 2191-3250

       ISBN 978-3-631-81798-8 (Print)

       E-ISBN 978-3-631-82308-8 (E-Book)

       E-ISBN 978-3-631-82309-5 (EPUB)

       E-ISBN 978-3-631-82310-1 (MOBI)

       DOI 10.3726/b17011

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       Berlin 2020

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      About the author

      Łukasz Bolesta is an academic teacher and researcher employed in the Department of Labour Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (Lublin, Poland). His research interests focus mostly on labour law and social security, with particular emphasis on the issue of duty of loyalty in the employment relationship.

      About the book

      The legal situation of whistleblowers has become an object of keen public interest in recent years. As practice shows, people who reveal irregularities in the workplace are exposed to the negative consequences of their actions. This book proposes a model of legal protection of such people, which could be applied in the Polish legal order. This model has been designed on the basis of an analysis of the literature, jurisprudence and selected legal acts existing in the world in the field of whistleblowers‘ protection.

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      Preface

      This publication was created as part of a research project entitled “In Search of a Model for the Legal Protection of a Whistleblower in the Workplace,” Reg. No. 2017/25/N/HS5/00563, financed by the National Science Centre (Poland). The work attempts to propose legal solutions in the field of whistleblower protection that could be applied in the Polish legal order. The postulated assumptions seek to enable whistleblowers report perceived irregularities in the workplace without fear of negative consequences for their actions. The postulates result from the analysis of the literature, case law, and selected existing legal acts around the world in the field of whistleblower protection.

      In Chapter I, I scrutinize the regulations on whistleblowing in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Romania, Slovenia, Ireland, Italy, France, and other selected countries. The reflections contained in this part also apply to the Directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of union law adopted on October 7, 2019, by the Council of the European Union. Member States are required to implement its provisions within their national legal order within two years. Moreover, I also discuss the legacy of the European Court of Human Rights. ECHR jurisprudence shapes the way human rights are understood in Poland, which may help people who report irregularities in the workplace, because it is binding in Polish courts and failure to comply exposes the state to liability for damages.

      Whereas Chapter II analyzes in detail Polish legal regulations on the protection of persons who report irregularities. Finally, Chapter III overviews planned regulations – at the time of this book’s preparation – which refer to whistleblowing and the protection of whistleblowers. This chapter also presents the doctrinal proposal of a model for the legal protection of whistleblowers in workplace. The Conclusion summarizes the study conducted in this book.

      Contents

Introduction

Chapter I Whistleblower Protection in Selected Legislatures

1.1 Preliminary Remarks

1.2 Whistleblower Protection in Selected Legislatures around the World

1.2.1 The United States of America

1.2.1.1 The False Claims Act

1.2.1.2 The Whistleblower Protection Act

1.2.1.3 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act

1.2.1.4 The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

1.2.2 The United Kingdom

1.2.3 Romania

1.2.4 Slovenia

       1.2.5 Ireland

       1.2.6 Italy

       1.2.7 France

       1.2.8 Other Selected States

       1.3 Whistleblower Protection in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights

       1.4 Whistleblower