A protection system is much more complex than just written documentation that you are correct in blowing the whistle. Your family and some close friends can be excellent sources for support when things start to get difficult around the office. Against this important source of comfort and support, you must weigh the importance of keeping the number of people who know the details of your case to a minimum. This may lead you to involve your family and friends as outside sources for general support, but withholding the details.

After mustering all the documentary evidence you can, and making sure you have support from friends and family, consult a lawyer about the paths you can take as a whistleblower. Both case law and government statutes are constantly changing. Consulting a legal professional, particularly one familiar with whistleblowing law, is your best bet to protect yourself. Laws covering the public and private sector in the U.S. differ in the remedies and protections they offer whistleblowers. Laws outside the U.S. may provide either more or less coverage than U.S. or state laws. Three commonly cited statutes from the U.S. are listed in the U.S. Whistleblower Law section. We present our understanding of these laws so you will have some ideas of the sort of legal protection you can expect. But ours are only examples of legal approaches, you should make sure to consult a legal specialist in whistleblowing yourself.