Towson Whistleblower Lawyer

Whistleblower Lawyer Towson, MD

If you reported illegal activity at work and your employer retaliated against you and fired you, demoted you, cut your hours, or made your work life miserable, Maryland and federal law may protect you. But those protections don’t enforce themselves.

Our Towson, MD whistleblower lawyer at Eric Siegel Law represents employees who had the courage to speak up and paid a price for it. We handle whistleblower retaliation claims, qui tam actions under the False Claims Act, and wrongful termination cases rooted in protected disclosures. Founding attorney Eric Siegel built this firm with more than 30 years of litigation experience, including time as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. That background matters when you are going up against an employer or a government contractor trying to bury the truth.

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

Federal Enforcement Background

Eric L. Siegel is a former DOJ Civil Rights Division trial attorney who has spent the last three decades litigating complex employment and civil rights matters. His time with the federal government gave him firsthand understanding of how agencies investigate wrongdoing, how cases move through administrative channels, and what it takes to build a record that holds up in court. That perspective is especially valuable in whistleblower litigation, where the intersection of federal and state enforcement creates layers that most employment attorneys rarely encounter.

Eric earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and a B.A. from Tufts University. He is barred in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and New York, and admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fourth and Fifth Circuits, and multiple federal district courts. He carries a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rating, the highest peer-reviewed distinction available, along with a Best Lawyers recognition (2023), a 10.0 Avvo Rating, and a spot on TopVerdict.com’s Top 100 Jury Verdicts in Labor & Employment (2022).

Eric works directly with each client and handles every case personally, from initial consultation through trial or settlement.

Our firm’s Senior Counsel, Andrew Schroeder, brings over 20 years of practice focused on retaliation, discrimination, and whistleblower cases across industries including government contracting, healthcare, and banking. Andrew earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and has represented employees before the Department of Labor, the EEOC, and the Merit Systems Protection Board. His work complements our firm’s depth in whistleblower retaliation claims.

Proven Advocacy for Employees

Eric Siegel Law has helped clients recover millions of dollars in employment and civil rights cases. We don’t just file complaints. Our employment lawyers in Towson, MD build cases designed to win, whether at the negotiating table or in front of a jury.

What Our Clients Say

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“Eric was great to talk to and work with regarding my whistleblower case. He provided terrific legal insight, but more importantly, a great deal of compassion for what I have been going through. I highly recommend him and his team.” – Stuart Melnick

Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.

Types of Whistleblower Cases We Handle in Towson

Whistleblower law is not one statute. It is a web of overlapping federal and state protections, each with its own scope, filing requirements, and deadlines. Our whistleblower attorneys in Towson, MD handle a range of cases for employees who disclosed wrongdoing and suffered consequences.

• False Claims Act (qui tam). If you have evidence that your employer defrauded the federal government through false billing, inflated invoices, kickback schemes, or misrepresentation of services you may be able to file a qui tam lawsuit. Successful whistleblowers can receive between 15% and 30% of the government’s recovery. We help clients navigate the confidential filing process required by the FCA.
• Whistleblower retaliation. You reported fraud, safety violations, or illegal conduct. Then your employer fired you, transferred you, slashed your pay, or made conditions intolerable. Both Maryland and federal law prohibit that kind of retaliation after reporting.
• SEC and financial fraud reporting. Employees who report securities fraud or violations of financial regulations are protected under the Dodd-Frank Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These cases often involve corporate accounting manipulation, insider trading, or false disclosures to investors. Our firm helps whistleblowers report safely.
• Healthcare fraud. Maryland’s False Health Claims Act targets fraud against state health plans, including Medicaid. Employees in hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical companies, and billing operations who witness fraudulent claims may have grounds for a qui tam action.
• Government contractor fraud. Maryland is home to thousands of federal contractors. Employees of those contractors are protected under both the federal FCA and Maryland’s contractor whistleblower statute when they disclose waste, abuse, or violations of law.
• Wrongful termination for reporting. Even when no specific whistleblower statute applies, Maryland common law may protect employees who were fired for reporting criminal activity or refusing to break the law. The public policy exception to at-will employment covers these wrongful termination claims.

Maryland and Federal Whistleblower Protections

Several laws protect employees who report wrongdoing. Which ones apply depends on who your employer is, what you reported, and how you reported it.

The federal False Claims Act, codified at 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3733, allows private citizens to file qui tam lawsuits against parties who defraud the government. In fiscal year 2025, the DOJ recovered over $6.8 billion through FCA settlements and judgments. The FCA also contains anti-retaliation provisions protecting whistleblowers who are fired or punished for filing or assisting in a qui tam action.

Maryland has its own False Claims Act and False Health Claims Act, both of which allow qui tam actions for fraud against state programs. One important difference from federal law: in Maryland, the state must intervene for a qui tam case to proceed. If the state declines, the case is dismissed.

For state government employees, the Maryland Whistleblower Protection Law (State Personnel and Pensions Article § 5-301) protects Executive Branch workers who disclose waste, abuse, or violations of law. Complaints must be filed within six months of the retaliation.

Employees of state contractors are separately protected under Maryland State Finance and Procurement Article §§ 11-301 through 11-306. That law covers workers whose employers contract with state agencies to provide supplies or services.

And for employees not covered by any specific whistleblower statute, Maryland’s common law wrongful discharge tort may still apply. Courts have recognized that firing someone for reporting illegal conduct violates public policy and gives rise to a damages claim.

The filing deadlines vary. Some are as short as 30 days. Others allow six months or more. Identifying the right statute and meeting the right deadline is critical and it is one of the first things our whistleblower lawyers in Towson evaluate during an initial consultation.

Important Aspects of a Whistleblower Case in Towson

Proving Retaliation

Your employer will almost never admit they fired you because you reported fraud. They’ll point to performance issues, attendance, restructuring, anything but the real reason. Proving retaliation requires showing a connection between your protected activity and the adverse action. Timing matters. If you were terminated two weeks after reporting misconduct, that alone raises questions. Our attorneys look at the full picture: the timeline, internal communications, how similarly situated employees were treated, and whether the employer’s stated reasons hold up under scrutiny.

Protecting Your Identity During a Qui Tam Filing

Under the False Claims Act, qui tam complaints are filed under seal. That means the case is kept confidential while the government investigates. The DOJ reviews the allegations and decides whether to intervene. During this period, your identity is protected. But maintaining that seal requires careful handling as one misstep can jeopardize the case. Our firm guides clients through every stage of this process.

Calculating Damages

Whistleblower retaliation cases can yield significant damages. Depending on the statute, you may be entitled to reinstatement, back pay, front pay, double back pay, compensatory damages, and attorney’s fees. In False Claims Act cases, the whistleblower’s share of the government’s recovery can be substantial. We assess every available remedy to make sure nothing is left on the table.

The Emotional Weight of Whistleblowing

This isn’t just a legal matter. Whistleblowers often face isolation, professional blacklisting, and intense stress. We’ve represented clients who were accused of misconduct by the very employers they tried to hold accountable. Part of our role is helping clients navigate that pressure while building the strongest possible case.

Multiple Layers of Protection May Apply

Many whistleblower situations involve overlapping federal and state claims. An employee who reports Medicaid fraud by a Maryland state contractor, for example, may have claims under the federal FCA, Maryland’s False Health Claims Act, the state contractor whistleblower statute, and the common law wrongful discharge tort. We analyze every potential avenue and pursue the combination that maximizes protection and recovery.

Contact Eric Siegel Law

Blowing the whistle takes real courage. Retaliation for doing so is illegal. If you reported fraud, waste, safety violations, or criminal activity and your employer punished you for it, you have legal options.

Contact us to schedule a confidential consultation. We’ll review the facts of your situation, identify which protections apply, and explain what a case would look like from start to finish.