French Unions Demand Whistleblower Protection for Employees

On March 3, twenty associations and unions in France sent an open letter to President Francois Hollande to demand protection status for employees whistleblowers that for many end up isolated and unemployed. France, has five whistleblower laws – three of which date back to 2013 – the legislation is fragmented and disparate. Without comprehensive definition of whistleblower protection laws accompanied by sanctions for violations the French system does not fully protect whistleblowers. The issue of whistleblowing is currently a hot topic in France as the government is investigating UBS with the assistance of UBS Whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld. Related articles:

A Call For Whistleblowers, March 3, 2015.

Bradley Birkenfeld, the man by whom the UBS scandal happened, March 2, 2015.

UBS Whistle-Blower Says Bank Has ‘Global’ Issue With Tax Evaders, March 3, 2015.

The key witness in the UBS scandal speaks, March 1, 2015.

Fragile right alert, March 2, 2015.

Washington encourages the reporting but is merciless when its interests are threatened, March 2, 2015.Another Whistleblower Offers to Help India With Black Money Probe, March 5, 2015.Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto represented Mr. Birkenfeld, the world’s largest Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Tax Fraud Whistleblower when he disclosed illegal offshore Swiss banking that resulted in over $5 billion recovered for U.S. taxpayers. His information forced Switzerland to change its international treaty with the United States resulting and its largest bank was forced to turn over the names of over 4,900 U.S. citizens who held illegal offshore accounts. Mr. Birkenfeld received a $104 million IRS Whistleblower reward – the largest ever received by an individual whistleblower. Related links:

Information on IRS Whistleblower Program

Whistleblower Protections and Rewards under the Internal Revenue Code