OECD Issues New Report on Worldwide Whistleblower Protections

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently released a new report entitled “Committing to Effective Whistleblower Protection.”

The publication contains information on the variety of whistleblower protection statutes in OECD countries. According to the report, more OECD countries have passed new whistleblower protection laws in the past five years than in the previous 25 years combined. Out of the 32 OECD nations that responded to the survey, 27 reported new whistleblower protection laws or other protections under specific circumstances.

The report also posits that more protections are needed to protect whistleblowers who work in private-sector positions. More work is also needed to be done to curb the prevalence of bribery. At least 27 of OECD’s member nations do not have sufficient protections against whistleblowers who report bribery occurring in either the public or private sector.

Suggested action from OECD

Moving forward, the agency recommends the following actions to continue to enhance whistleblower protections:

• Implement whistleblower protections more broadly so that they cover any people who carry out any functions within an organization
• More clearly communicate whistleblower protection processes as they currently exist and raise greater awareness of these protections through training, newsletters and public sessions
• Encourage more countries to develop more detailed mechanisms for identifying data, benchmarks and indicators relative to whistleblower protections
• Encourage protected mechanisms for reporting and better prevention of employer retaliation

For more information about the protections afforded to whistleblowers and how you can protect your business or organization, contact the trusted Dallas attorneys at Whistleblower Law for Managers today.