Kdtyjb

My direct supervisor has repeatedly performed actions that go against conduct of the company and of the state laws. I brought this to the attention of his boss in hopes of covering for myself when and if he eventually gets caught.

My direct supervisor's boss proceeded to tell my direct supervisor, and by extension the rest of the department, everything I had said.

I am being greeted with nothing but negativity and am being treated unfairly (have more tasks assigned to me that I can handle, negative repercussions for not completing these large requests, etc.)

What, if anything, am I able to do in this situation? I'd rather not leave because I have nothing to fall back on at the moment. I have tried contacting HR, but I need to have an appointment set up through the boss because the HR department does not have a location in our building. They only respond by appointment.

You've witnessed something illegal. By law, you are most likely required to report it to a federal agency, not your supervisor's boss. In other words, having told the boss, you haven't actually done anything to protect yourself legally. In fact, you may be considered complicit.

The simplest solution is to forget about getting along with these folks, and find a new job.

However, you could also contact a lawyer, outline the situation, and probably take them to court. There's two reasons for this:

1. The discrimination you're facing is likely illegal in pretty much any western country you care to name. Some companies end up having to pay out a lot of money for that sort of behavior.




2. You have no idea how your supervisor - or his boss - may react to the fact that you have knowledge of their illegal operations. It may sound a little paranoid, but they could conceivably try to pin some sort of blame on you. Speaking to a lawyer about your liability in this situation should be the bare minimum you do whether you take them to court or not.

If you do decide to speak to a lawyer (which I strongly recommend), then don't give your employers any hint of it, and don't quit before you do. You may be advised by the lawyer to gather evidence in your defense, etc.

Get out ASAP, you are marked. Get out and get out now. Document everything they do, everything you do, and see a lawyer as soon as possible. They are aware that their illegal activities have been spotted, and you are a convenient scapegoat. Get all of your evidence to that lawyer, and do as he advises. Failing to do so could possibly make you an accessory after the fact to any illegal activities.

IANAL, which is why I am advising you to see one ASAP

In the future, GO TO A LAWYER FIRST, ALWAYS if you see any illegal activity.

You need to protect yourself.

Just polish your CV and get the hell out. You did the right thing by not accepting to engage in illegal actions. Document every impossible task and everything you do. Make a copy of everything and watch your back until you don't find a new employment.

Something to think about: do you have any reason to believe the boss isn't also doing illegal things?

That's the reason that these answers are not paranoid, and you really really need to talk to a lawyer, or at the very least, an actual whistleblower organization. Because if the boss was "in on it" and doing illegal things alongside your supervisor, you've put yourself in a downright terrible position. Because both of them:

• Know you're willing to be a whistleblower


• Trying to whistleblow on crimes they'd be punished for
  


• Are willing to do shady/illegal things

... you can bet quite a bit of money that, unless you take some urgent action, that this isn't going to go well. "Framed" sounds so melodramatic, but you can certainly bet that, even if you leave, they'll be floating things like, "Yeah, Tyler Weaver? Left a few months back. Terrible employee... and we suspect that he may have been XYZ'ing. Couldn't prove it, but let's just say we're glad he left." Worst case, they simply call the cops and accuse you of XYZ, and provide "evidence" of your crime.

Seriously, at least give a call to the Department of Labor or send them an email.

It’s generally reasonable for boss-squared to discuss issues with your boss. But given some criminal contexts in play, it might not be reasonable in this case.

IANAL I’d first suggest you look into your state’s whistleblower laws and reporting requirements. It could be the case that just knowing laws are getting broken and not reporting them could bring you down as well.

Next, document. Attempt to contact HR. It sounds as though it may fall on deaf ears, but document that you attempted to alert the “internal authorities”. If required by law to report it, you should very likely do so, regardless of in-company consequences. I doubt any whistleblower protection will cause this to be a place you feel comfortable staying in long term, but might at least give you recourse for compensation if you have to be unemployed.

As far as in office, I suspect you need to leave at earliest option. Lay as low as you can until you can, but there are a host of red flags here.

• Ignoring regulations;


• Boss-squared airing a sensitive issue to a broad audience;


• Trivializing a serious complaint;


• Human Resources inaccessibility to the human resources.

MAYBE boss-squared realizes he’s erred but it sounds like your boss now has reason to be wary of you and his boss supports him.