Dundalk Whistleblower Lawyer

Whistleblower Lawyer Dundalk, MD

If you reported fraud, safety hazards, or illegal conduct at your workplace, and your employer turned on you for it, you are not alone, and you are not without options.

Maryland and federal law protect employees who blow the whistle on wrongdoing. But employers rarely make it easy. They fire people. Demote them. Move them to dead-end shifts. Make the job unbearable until the person quits. That is retaliation, and it’s illegal.

At Eric Siegel Law, our Dundalk, MD whistleblower lawyer represents workers across Baltimore County who spoke up and suffered consequences for it. We handle qui tam lawsuits, whistleblower retaliation claims, and wrongful termination cases involving protected disclosures. Our founding attorney spent years as a trial lawyer at the U.S. Department of Justice before opening this firm and that federal enforcement perspective drives how we approach every case.

Why Choose Eric Siegel Law for Whistleblower Cases in Dundalk, MD?

Built on a Foundation of Civil Rights Enforcement

Before he ever represented a private client, Eric L. Siegel was enforcing federal civil rights protections as a trial attorney with the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. He has carried that mission forward for more than 30 years. Whistleblower cases sit at the center of his practice because they involve the same core principle: holding powerful institutions accountable when they harm the people who work for them.

Eric graduated from UCLA School of Law in 1989 and earned his B.A. from Tufts University. He is barred in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and New York. He holds a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rating, was recognized by Best Lawyers in 2023, and earned a 10.0 Avvo Rating and a spot on TopVerdict.com’s Top 100 Jury Verdicts in Labor & Employment (2022). He is admitted before the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal appellate and district courts.

Andrew Schroeder, Senior Counsel, adds over two decades of focused employment litigation. His practice spans whistleblower retaliation, discrimination, and harassment claims across industries including government contracting, pharmaceutical, banking, and healthcare. Andrew earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He has represented employees before the EEOC, the Department of Labor, and the Merit Systems Protection Board, agencies that are directly involved in many whistleblower cases.

If you need a whistleblower retaliation attorney, our firm brings both courtroom intensity and the strategic depth that these cases demand.

Millions Recovered for Employees

Our firm has helped clients across Maryland recover millions of dollars in employment and civil rights matters. Whistleblower cases can involve substantial damages such as reinstatement, double back pay, compensatory damages, and attorney’s fees. In qui tam actions, the whistleblower’s share of the government’s recovery can range from 15% to 30%. We fight to maximize every available remedy.

Satisfied Clients

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Working with Eric Siegel Law, has been an exceptional experience. Eric quickly understood the complexities of our situation, guided us with absolute clarity, and provided strategic, well-reasoned advice at every stage. His communication is timely, precise, and always focused on protecting our best interests” – Coskun Unal

Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.

Types of Whistleblower Cases We Handle in Dundalk

Whistleblower law covers a wide range of situations, but the common thread is simple: you reported something illegal, and your employer made you pay for it. Our whistleblower attorneys in Dundalk handle the following types of cases.

• False Claims Act (qui tam). Employees who discover fraud against the federal government such as billing fraud, kickback schemes, inflated contracts, misrepresentation of services, can file a confidential qui tam lawsuit on behalf of the government. If the case succeeds, the whistleblower receives a percentage of what’s recovered. We help clients through the confidential filing process and the government’s investigation.
• Retaliation claims. Your employer fired you, cut your hours, or transferred you after you reported wrongdoing. Both state and federal law prohibit that kind of payback. We pursue retaliation claims aggressively on behalf of workers who refused to stay quiet.
• Government contractor fraud. Baltimore County is home to many businesses that hold federal and state contracts. Employees of those contractors are protected when they report waste, abuse, or violations of law.
• Healthcare and Medicaid fraud. Maryland’s False Health Claims Act targets fraud against state health plans. Workers in hospitals, billing departments, pharmacies, and home health agencies who witness fraudulent claims may have grounds for a qui tam action and retaliation protections.
• SEC and financial fraud. The Dodd-Frank Act and Sarbanes-Oxley Act protect employees of publicly traded companies who report securities violations, accounting fraud, or misleading financial disclosures. Whistleblowers may be eligible for SEC bounty awards of 10% to 30% of sanctions collected.
• Wrongful termination. Even when no specific whistleblower statute applies, Maryland’s common law recognizes wrongful discharge when an employee is fired for refusing to participate in illegal activity or for reporting criminal conduct.

Maryland and Federal Whistleblower Protections

Multiple overlapping laws protect employees who report wrongdoing. Which law applies depends on your employer, the type of misconduct you reported, and how you reported it.

The federal False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3733) is the most powerful tool for combating government fraud. It allows private citizens to file qui tam lawsuits and recover a share of any proceeds. The DOJ reported over $6.8 billion in FCA recoveries in fiscal year 2025 alone. The Act also prohibits retaliation against employees who file or assist in qui tam actions.

Maryland’s own False Claims Act and False Health Claims Act allow similar actions for fraud against state programs. One key difference: the state must intervene for the case to proceed. If Maryland declines, the case is dismissed. Whistleblower rewards under Maryland’s FCA can reach up to 25% of the recovery.

The Maryland Whistleblower Protection Law (State Personnel and Pensions Article § 5-301) protects Executive Branch employees who disclose abuse, mismanagement, waste, or violations of law. Complaints must be filed within six months. State contractor employees have separate protections under the State Finance and Procurement Article (§§ 11-301 through 11-306), with a one-year filing window.

For employees not covered by any specific statute, Maryland courts recognize a common law wrongful discharge claim when the firing violates clear public policy for instance, when an employee is terminated for reporting illegal conduct to law enforcement or a government agency.

Federal workplace safety whistleblowers must file with OSHA within 30 days. Other statutes allow longer windows. Missing a deadline can bar your claim entirely, which is why consulting a whistleblower attorney early matters as much as anything.

Important Aspects of a Dundalk Whistleblower Case

Establishing the Timeline

In retaliation cases, timing is one of the strongest pieces of evidence. If you were terminated three weeks after filing a complaint, that proximity alone raises an inference of retaliation. We build detailed timelines showing when the disclosure occurred, when the employer became aware, and when adverse action followed. Courts pay close attention to these patterns, and so do juries.

Navigating the Seal Period in Qui Tam Cases

When you file a qui tam complaint under the False Claims Act, it’s filed under seal meaning the case stays confidential while the government investigates. This period can last months or, in complex cases, years. During that time, you cannot publicly disclose the lawsuit. Violating the seal can jeopardize the entire case. Our firm manages that process carefully, keeping clients informed about their rights at every stage.

How Employers Disguise Retaliation

Employers rarely say, “We fired you because you reported fraud.” Instead, they manufacture performance issues, claim restructuring, or find pretextual policy violations. Proving retaliation means showing that the stated reason is a cover story. We look at how similarly situated employees were treated, whether performance concerns appeared only after the disclosure, and whether the employer’s story has shifted over time.

The Full Range of Damages

A successful whistleblower case can yield reinstatement, back pay, double back pay, front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees. In qui tam cases, the whistleblower’s share of the government’s recovery is awarded separately. Our employment litigation team evaluates every available remedy to pursue the maximum recovery.

Overlapping Claims Strengthen Your Position

Many whistleblower situations involve more than one legal theory. A healthcare worker who reports Medicaid fraud and gets fired may have claims under the federal FCA, the Maryland False Health Claims Act, the state contractor whistleblower statute, and the common law wrongful discharge tort all at once. Pursuing multiple claims simultaneously increases both leverage and potential recovery. Our firm identifies every available avenue, including related wage claims if the employer also withheld pay.

Contact Eric Siegel Law

Reporting wrongdoing should not cost you your career. If it did, the law provides a path forward, and in many cases, a path to significant compensation.

Contact us for a confidential consultation. We will review your situation, identify which laws protect you, and explain what pursuing a case would involve.