▪ STATUTE 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h) FILE NO. WBP-RETAL-2026
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31 U.S.C. § 3730(h) · La. R.S. 46:440.3

The law protects
the people who report.

Congress wrote the False Claims Act with a specific structural problem in mind: the people who can see fraud are the same people who work for the company committing it. Without protection, nobody reports. So the statute includes an anti-retaliation provision with its own private right of action, its own damages framework, and its own statute of limitations. Louisiana wrote a parallel provision into MAPIL. Both apply.

Federal protection

Section 3730(h) in plain English.

31 U.S.C. § 3730(h) prohibits an employer from discharging, demoting, suspending, threatening, harassing, or in any other manner discriminating against an employee, contractor, or agent because of lawful acts done in furtherance of a False Claims Act action — or because of efforts to stop one or more violations of the FCA.

The protection is broad on purpose. An employee does not have to file a qui tam case to be covered. Internal complaints, refusals to participate in fraudulent conduct, and participation in government investigations all qualify as protected activity. The employee does not have to be correct about the underlying fraud — a reasonable, good-faith belief that fraud was occurring is enough.

What you can recover

  • Reinstatement to the same seniority the employee would have had but for the retaliation.
  • Two times back pay, plus interest.
  • Compensation for any special damages — including attorneys' fees and costs.

The statute of limitations for a federal § 3730(h) retaliation claim is three years from the date of the retaliation. This is a separate case from the underlying qui tam and does not need to be filed under seal.

The retaliation case is separate from the qui tam case.

A retaliation claim can be brought without filing a qui tam. A qui tam can be brought without filing a retaliation claim. Often both are filed, but the procedure is different — the retaliation claim is a standard employment lawsuit, filed publicly, while the qui tam is filed under seal.

Louisiana protection

La. R.S. 46:440.3 in plain English.

Louisiana's MAPIL anti-retaliation provision tracks the federal model closely. It prohibits healthcare providers and other entities subject to MAPIL from discharging, demoting, suspending, threatening, harassing, or otherwise discriminating against an employee, contractor, or agent because the person engaged in protected conduct — including filing or supporting a MAPIL action, reporting conduct to the Louisiana Attorney General, or refusing to participate in conduct the person reasonably believed violated MAPIL.

What you can recover under MAPIL

  • Reinstatement with full seniority and benefits.
  • Twice the amount of lost wages and benefits, with interest.
  • Compensation for special damages, including litigation costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.

Because Louisiana is a covered state, an employee retaliated against for reporting Louisiana Medicaid fraud often has both a federal § 3730(h) claim (to the extent the conduct also involved federal Medicaid dollars, which Louisiana Medicaid always does) and a state MAPIL claim. These can be pled together.

Other overlapping protections

Statutes that may also apply.

Depending on the industry and the fact pattern, additional statutes can expand the protected conduct, the available remedies, or both. The following come up most often in the cases we see.

Sarbanes-Oxley (18 U.S.C. § 1514A)

Protects employees of publicly traded companies and their contractors who report fraud against shareholders or SEC violations. Covers both internal reports and external reports to regulators. 180-day limitations period, administered through OSHA.

Dodd-Frank (15 U.S.C. § 78u-6)

Separate anti-retaliation protection for reports to the SEC. Six-year limitations period. Larger remedy framework than Sarbanes-Oxley, including double back pay.

Affordable Care Act (29 U.S.C. § 218c)

Protects employees who report violations of Title I of the ACA — including concerns about insurer practices, employer coverage mandates, and exchange-related conduct.

Defense Contractor Whistleblower Protection Act (10 U.S.C. § 4701)

Covers employees of defense contractors and subcontractors who report fraud on defense contracts. Broad definition of protected disclosures.

Louisiana Whistleblower Statute (La. R.S. 23:967)

Louisiana's general-purpose whistleblower statute. Applies to employees who disclose, threaten to disclose, or object to workplace acts or practices that violate state law. Narrower in some ways than MAPIL's anti-retaliation provision, but broader in that it is not limited to healthcare.

What to do — and not do

Practical steps if you are considering reporting.

Do

  • Document what you saw in your own words, on your own time, using your own devices.
  • Keep a contemporaneous log of any retaliation or adverse changes in your work environment — dates, times, witnesses.
  • Talk to a qui tam lawyer under privilege before reporting internally, if you can. Internal reports are protected, but strategic decisions about timing and sequence are easier to make with counsel.
  • Preserve personal communications and notes. If you receive a termination letter or a performance-improvement plan, save it.

Do not

  • Take, copy, email, or photograph documents from systems you do not have authorized access to. This can create independent legal exposure and can complicate the underlying case.
  • Post publicly about the fraud or the company on social media. Public disclosure before filing can trigger the FCA's public-disclosure bar and cost you the case.
  • Confront coworkers or supervisors about the fraud. It tips off the target and can make the subsequent retaliation harder to litigate.
  • Delay. The statute of limitations runs. The first person to file under the first-to-file rule is the one with the case.
If retaliation has already happened

You still have a case — and possibly a stronger one.

Retaliation often happens after an employee raises concerns internally. If you were fired, demoted, reassigned, or pushed out after reporting something you believed was fraudulent, the retaliation itself is an independent cause of action with its own remedies. The underlying qui tam may also still be available depending on timing.

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