Delaware Whistleblower Laws

Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last reviewed June 20, 2016

For those of us who dig our jobs, we often think the best of our employers. We give them the benefit of the doubt believe they are acting ethically, responsibly, and especially legally. But what happens if we find out our company may have been involved in some less-than-honorable business practices?

It can be a tough spot for an employee to find themselves in: do we report on company misconduct and risk getting fired? Luckily, there are laws in place to help protect employees who want to report fraud or illegal conduct in the workplace. This is a brief summary of “whistleblower” laws in Delaware.

Whistleblower Laws

Just about every state has some regulations that prohibit an employer from retaliating against an employee who reports illegal, dangerous, or otherwise unethical business practices. These are known as "whistleblower" laws, and are designed to shield employees from demotion or firing if they come forward with important information. Under Delaware’s whistleblower laws only protect public employees from retaliation.

Delaware Whistleblower Statutes

While Delaware’s whistleblower laws are limited to public employees at the state level, the federal government has protections that apply to whistleblowers who believe their company has defrauded the government. These employees are allowed to file what are known as “qui tam actions,” and are defended from employer retaliation by the federal False Claims Act. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 also protects whistleblowers in cases of securities, shareholder, and other kinds of fraud.

Some of Delaware's whistleblower laws are highlighted in the following table.

Code Section	Tit. 29 §5115
Prohibited Employer Activity	Can not discharge, threaten, or otherwise discriminate because employee reported to an elected official a violation or suspected violation of law or regulation unless employee knows report is false
Protection for Public or Private Employees?	Public
Opportunity for Employer to Correct?	-
Remedies	Civil action: for injunctive relief, actual damages, or both within 90 days of alleged violation
Penalties	-

Note: State laws are constantly changing -- contact an attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.

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