Maryland False Claims Act of 2015: State Law Protection for Whistleblowers

The Maryland False Claims Act took effect June 1, 2015.  The main provisions of the Act: 

1. Prohibit a person from knowingly making a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval by the government; 
2. Permit a private citizen to file a civil action on behalf of the government against a person who has made a false claim; 
3. Require the court to award a certain percentage of the proceeds of the action to the private citizen initiating the action; and 
4. Prohibit retaliatory actions by a person against an employee, contractor, or grantee for disclosing a false claim or engaging in other false claims-related activities.

For employees and contractors, the Act provides two avenues to pursue relief.  

"Qui-Tam Claims."  An employee who discovers a false claim can pursue a civil action on behalf of a governmental entity.   Such a civil action must be filed under seal and remain under seal for 60 to allow the governmental to review it.  The case only goes forward if the government chooses to pursue the claim.  If the governmental wins, the court must award the private party not less than 15% and not more than 25% of the proceeds, and in certain circumstances not more than 10% of the proceeds, proportional to the amount of time and effort that the party contributed to the final resolution of the action. 

"Retaliation Claims."  Employees and contractors who investigate, initiate, testify in, or assist a lawful action against a fraud are protected if they disclose a fraud to a supervisor or the government. They are also protected when they refuse to engage in a fraud against the state.    Victims of retaliation may sue to seek an injunction to stop the retaliation. They also may get double their back pay and punitive damages. The law provides a statute of limitations of at least three years.

Employee/whistle-blowers considering pursuing either avenue to relief should consult counsel since this can a difficult area to navigate.

Maryland Health Care Worker Whistelblower Protection Act

   Maryland has a special lawthat protects health care workers from retaliation.  The Maryland Health Care Worker Whistleblower Protection Act protects an employee from retaliation if he or she discloses to a supervisor or board an activity that is in violation of a law, rule, or regulation.  

  The health care worker must believe in good faith that the activity poses a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.  The health care must make his or her report in writing or follow the employer's compliance policy.

   In a recent case, the Maryland Court of Appeals (our highest court) ruled that the Act may protect a health care worker even if he or she only made an "internal" complaint to a supervisor.

Maryland Whistleblower Success Story

  The firm recently won a Section 1983 jury verdict in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. The case was unusual in that the firm represented a volunteer firefighter seeking to be reinstated in a Volunteer Fire Department. The client exposed financial mismanagement and safety issues in the firehouse to a citizen who passed the information on to the Montgomery County Council. Up until the day of trial he would have accepted reinstatement as settlement with little or no money. (We unsuccessfully moved to enforce what we believed had been such a settlement shortly before trial). We proved at trial that the Department and Fire Chief terminated him for the disclosures. Although the jury awarded a modest amount in compensatory damages, it affirmatively found that the Department and Fire Chief terminated my client for protected speech. The verdict opened the door to reinstatement and attorney’s fees.

The Court did, in fact, later award my client significant post-trial relief, including: (1) reinstatement; (2) the award of six years of missed pension credits; (3) expungement of all negative information in my client’s personnel file related to his whistle-blowing activity; (4) an injunction against further retaliation and (5) $143,116.78 in attorney’s fees and costs (100% of the fees and costs the firm charged to the client).