The Government Accountability Project is proud to announce the release of the single most comprehensive publication ever created about corporate whistleblowing, The Corporate Whistleblower’s Survival Guide: A Handbook for Committing the Truth. Published by Berrett-Koehler, this step-by-step guide details key information that potential business whistleblowers should know before, during, and after blowing the whistle.
The Corporate Whistleblower’s Survival Guide: A Handbook for Committing the Truth, by Tom Devine and Tarek F. Maassarani, with a Foreword by tobacco industry whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand.
From Erin Brockovich to Enron, whistleblowers who “challenge abuses of power that betray the public trust” have proven to be an unfortunate necessity in modern business culture. Their efforts to report crimes, fraud, and dangers to public health and safety have saved millions of lives and billions of dollars of shareholder value – and had we heeded the warnings of whistleblowers, perhaps disasters such as the Bernie Madoff scandal and the Lehman Brothers meltdown could have been averted.
Recent federal legislation in finance and health reform have cemented legal protections and mechanisms for whistleblowing. This book provides a thorough guide and history to the whistleblower’s legal rights. The ultimate survival guide, it provides advice on getting help and finding allies, warns that retaliation is often the reward for “committing the truth” and shows how to weather the storm. With extensive legal texts, sample letters, resources, and information on upcoming whistleblower reforms, this is the ultimate source on the subject.
Topics include:
whistleblowing strategies that have proved successful;
common pitfalls;
key survival tips;
typical retaliatory tactics;
working with the media;
available resources and help groups; and
current legal protections,
just to name a few.
Many high-profile whistleblowers and good government advocates have reviewed the book and hailed its importance for truth-tellers everywhere. The Corporate Whistleblower’s Survival Guide is filled with essential tips for navigating every step of the whistleblowing process — from detailing what individuals should do if they are simply considering taking action to expose wrongdoing, to navigating the storm of retaliation that inevitably follows.
From the book cover:
A beacon, a buoy, and a life jacket complete with instructions on how to stay afloat, navigate, and survive the turbulent, shark-infested waters of today’s greedy and corrupt corporate world.
— Frank Serpico, legendary NYPD whistleblower
Shows how to successfully blow the whistle and plot a course to save or salvage one’s career, and offers experience and testimonies that just might safeguard one’s sanity and personal life.
— Sherron Watkins, former Vice President, Enron, and a 2002 Time Person of the Year
A crucial guide … [It] will help … whistleblowers in plotting a rational strategy, considering the ramifications, and making a decision.
— Shayrl Attkisson, CBS News Investigative Correspondent
Tom Devine (Co-author) is legal director of the Government Accountability Project, where he has worked to assist thousands of whistleblowers to come forward. He has been involved in the all of the campaigns to pass or defend major whistleblower laws over the last two decades. Since 1977 he has helped more than 5,000 people take on organizations like AIG, Bechtel, the World Bank, Procter & Gamble, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals – and win. He has received the Fund for Constitutional Government’s Defender of the Constitution Award and is a member of the Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame.
Tarek Maassarani (Co-author) is a practicing attorney and a former litigator with the Government Accountability Project. He is an adjunct professor at George Washington University, teaching in the areas of nonviolent communication and human rights.
Dr. Jeffrey Wigand (Foreword) is a former tobacco industry whistleblower who achieved national recognition in 1995 when he was the highest ranking former executive to address public health and smoking issues. He was the subject of the film The Insider. He now works to combat teen tobacco use through his nonprofit organization, Smoke-Free Kids.
The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. Founded in 1977, its mission is to promote corporate and government accountability by protecting whistleblowers, advancing occupational free speech, and empowering citizen activists.
Climate Science Watch is a sponsored project of GAP.
Earlier posts:
Government Whistleblower Protection: the Long Ignored Way to Better Connect the Dots