Erhvervsudvalget 2020-21
ERU Alm.del Bilag 333
Offentligt
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ANTI-CORRUPTION
POLICY SERIES
• MARCH 2021 •
10 FUNDAMENTAL
PROVISIONS OF THE
EU DIRECTIVE ON
WHISTLEBLOWER
PROTECTION
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The first i ndependent ,
non- profi t organizat i on
dedi c at ed t o st rengt heni ng
w hist lebl ow er prot ec t ions,
support ing w hi st leblow ers
and i nvest igat ing c ases
t hroughout Europe
EPOCS
)
1
The w hist leblower ri ght s
law firm int ernat ionally
rec ognized as being t he
m ost hi ghly skill ed and
suc c essful – handling t he
t oughest c ases and holdi ng
t he biggest fraudst ers
ac c ount able
Th e E u r opean Un i on app r o ved a
Di r ec t i ve
i n Oc t obe r 2019 t h a t r equ i r e s a l
l
E U coun t r i e s t o enac t wh i s t l eb l o we r r i g h t s and p r o t ec t i on s by Decembe r
17 , 2021 . Th i s g i ve s po l i cy -make r s and c i t i zens an oppo r t u n i t y t o
imp l emen t t h e Di r ec t i ve
and
c r a f t e f f ec t i ve wh i s t l eb l owe r l aws
de s i gn ed t o
f i gh t co r r u p t i o n , p r o t ec t t h e en v i r onmen t and p r omo t e t h e pu b l i c i n t e r e s t .
Wh i s t l eb l o we r s mu s t be b r o ad l y p r o t ec t ed i f t hey r epo r t v i o l a t i on s o f l aw,
abus e s o f au t h o r i t y , and t h r ea t s t o t he env i r on men t . Di s c l o su r e s cove r ed
mu s t i n c l ude r epo r t s o f v i o l a t i on s o f l aws and r egu l a t i ons r e l a t ed t o
c l ima t e chan ge , mon ey l aunde r i ng ,
f o r e i gn b r i be r y
, and
i n t e r n a t i on a l
co r r u p t i o n
.
Con f i den t i a l i t y
i s t h e be s t de f ens e aga i n s t r e t a l i a t i o n . I f an emp l o ye r doe s
n o t kno w wh o a wh i s t l eb l o we r i s , t h ey cann o t r e t a l i a t e aga i n s t o r f i r e t h e
pe r son . Pr o v i s i on s s t r i c t l y p r o t ec t i n g wh i s t l eb l o we r con f i den t i a l i t y shou l d
be en ac t ed , and t h e r e mus t be mechan i sms t o h o l d o f f i c i a l s wh o l eak t h e
i den t i t y o f a wh i s t l eb l o we r ac cou n t ab l e .
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STHGIR REWOLBELTSIHW
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EPORUE
 ERU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 333: Henvendelse af 24/5-21 fra Global Climate Whistleblower Center om beskyttelse af whistleblowere i forbindelse med klimarelaterede overtrædelser
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I f a wh i s t l eb l o we r demons t r a t e s t h a t t h ey we r e su b j ec t ed t o r e t a l i a t i o n ,
t h ey mu s t be ab l e t o o b t a i n a r emedy t h a t wo u l d make t hem
co mp l e t e l y
wh o l e
. Th i s sho u l d i n c l ude r e i n s t a t emen t , f r o n t pay , back pay , r e s t o r a t i
o n
benefit, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney fees.
of
Wh i s t l eb l o we r s wh o p r o v i de l aw en f o r cemen t wi t h o r i g i n a l i n f o rma t i o n
t h a t i s u s ed t o suc ce s s f u l l y p r o s ecu t e co r r u p t o f f i c i a l s o r co r po r a t e
c r imi n a l s s e r ve an i n va l u ab l e pub l i c s e r v i ce and sho u l d be
r ewa r ded
f o r t he
r i s k s t h ey t ake i n h av i n g t he cou r age t o f i l e a r epo r t .
Non d i s c l osu r e ag r eemen t s
(NDAs ) t h a t p r eve n t emp l o yee s f r o m r epo r t ing
c r ime s t o l aw en f o r cemen t agen c i e s mu s t be s t r i c t l y p r o h i b i t ed . A l l
su ch a g r eemen t s mu s t be un en f o r ceab l e , and co r po r a t i on s t h a t r equ i r e
emp l o yee s t o s i gn i l l eg a l NDAs mu s t be su b j ec t ed t o f i n e s and pen a l t i e s .
R e s p ec t ed
d a t a - d r i ven
s t u d i e s
p r ov e t h a t r e wa r d
law s w ork. Bec aus e
rew ard s m ay b e pred ic ated
on s u c c e s s f u l en f o r c em en t
ac t i on s an d t h e l e ve l o f
a s s i s t a nc e p r o v i d ed ,
t h e r e
i s l i t t l e t o n o i nc en t i ve
f o r
“ f a ke wh i s t l eb l owe r s ” t o r
e po r t f r i vo l o u s o r
uns upport ed allegations .
Bec aus e m any
w his t leb low ers als o m ake
int ernal d is c los ures b efore
alert ing authorities ,
rew ard s provid e the b es t
prot ec t ion agains t
ret aliat ion.
I n o r de r t o en su r e t h a t wh i s t l eb l owe r s a r e p r o t ec t ed , and t he i r i n f o rma t i o n
i s f o r wa r ded t o t h e p r ope r au t h o r i t i e s , a Wh i s t l eb l o we r Of f i ce shou l d be
e s t ab l i sh ed t o ensu r e con f i den t i a l i t y and e s t ab l i sh a s a f e and s ecu r e
r epo r t i n g mechan i sm.
Wi t ho u t t h e ab i l i t y t o o b t a i n h i gh - qu a l i t y l awye r s , wh i s t l eb l o we r s a r e
s eve r e l y p r e j ud i ced . A l l p r i va t e r i gh t s o f ac t i o n ava i l ab l e f o r
wh i s t l eb l o we r s t o su e a r e t a l i a t o r mus t i n c l ude p r o v i s i on s a l l o wi n g
a t t o r n ey s wh o a r e suc ce s s f u l i n l i t i ga t i o n
t o be compen s a t ed by t h e
r e t a l i a t o r a t p r eva i l i n g ma r ke t r a t e s
.
Firing a whistleblower instills fear. Whistleblower laws must target the
“chilling effect” caused by retaliation . This includes preliminary injunctive
relief, treble damages whenever retaliation is intentional, and the ability
to order “affirmative relief” to cure any chilling effect.
Whistleblowers witness crimes. Retaliating against any person who reports
truthful information concerning a possible crime to official law
enforcement officers is an obstruction of justice , and this must be
recognized in whistleblower laws.
Founding Partner
Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto
(+1) 202 342-6980
Washington, DC
kk c . com
NHOK
.
M NEHPETS
Article 22 of the Directive could be interpreted in such a way that would
expose whistleblowers to retaliatory lawsuits. Laws passed under this
provision must be limited to strict constitutional rights of defense.
Whistleblowers should still be protected from discovery by the other
provisions of the Directive, and any law that permits corporations to
recover attorney fees from whistleblowers, or that allow lawsuits against
whistleblowers who follow proper disclosure methods, must be repealed.
TNIOP YEK
TNIOP YEK
ECITSUJ FO NOITCURTSBO S
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STCEFFE GNILLIHC TNEVERP
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SEEF YENROTT
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From our experienc e,
given t he fac t that
w his t leb low er law s are
rapid ly evolving
t hroughout the w orld and
a s ignific ant am ount of
illegal c ond uc t has
int ernat ional im plic ations ,
w his t leb low ers need
c ouns el t o s afely and
effec t ively navigate the
prot ec t ed d is c los ure
proc es s .