So-called whistleblower laws are found in every state and protect employees from retaliation by employers after reporting a safety or legal violation to the proper authorities. While the majority of state whistleblower laws are limited to public sector employees, some states extend these protections to private employees as well. Generally, whistleblower laws prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who report a violation of law (whether it's a safety violation, a breach of the public trust, or something similar). Even if the alleged illegal activity is not confirmed by the authorities, employees are protected as long as they acted in good faith.
Nebraska Whistleblower Protections at a Glance
Nebraska's State Government Effectiveness Act protects public sector employees only, protecting them from retaliation for reporting any legal violation, "gross mismanagement" of public funds, or a situation creating a "substantial and specific" danger to public safety. Generally, all complaints are investigated by the Nebraska Ombudsman's Office, which will provide a written finding for the employee to use in a private lawsuit.
See the following charts to learn more about Nebraska's whistleblower protections. See FindLaw's Whistleblowers section for more articles and resources.
| Code Section | 81-2701, et seq. (State Government Effectiveness Act) |
| Prohibited Employer Activity | Person with authority to recommend, approve, direct, or take other personnel action can not dismiss, demote, transfer, reassign, suspend, or other personnel action if employee discloses information or testifies before public counsel or other officials |
| Type of Employer Wrongdoing Covered by Act |
|
| Protection for Public or Private Employees? | Public |
| Opportunity for Employer to Correct? | - |
| Remedies | If incident occurs or is about to occur, employee contacts public counsel who sends finding to personnel appeals board or director/chief operations officer of agency, who, after a hearing, can stay or reverse personnel action, grant back pay or other appropriate relief and reasonable attorney's fees, or employee can maintain an action under Administrative Procedures Act for damages, reinstatement, back pay or other relief including attorney's fees |
| Penalties | - |
Note: State laws may change at any time, whether a newly signed piece of legislation is enacted or a higher court has overruled an existing statute. While we strive to maintain the accuracy of these pages, you should contact a Nebraska employment law attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.
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Nebraska Whistleblower Law: Related Resources
