If you are a loyal government employee, then you are aware of the huge responsibility you have to undertake in guarding your institution’s safety and security. Thus, if you find out that some co-employees are plotting against the institution or agency you are working for that would affect the safety and security of said institution, then you have the responsibility to report it to proper authorities.

There is no limit to what a loyal employee can do for his or her institution. However, what can an institution do for loyal employees to protect them from retaliation by co-employees or employers they have reported against?

Without a doubt, even after all the necessary safety measures have been deployed by the employers, there will always be possibilities of accidents still happening in a workplace. Despite of the strict discipline performed by all employees, they are still prone in obtaining injuries while exercising their works. Well, all we can do is to hope that these tragic incidents will not happen to us or even to our loved ones. However, as a form of consolation, workers like us were entitled of benefits to cover our incurred injuries as stated under various federal and state laws.

There is a large number of people who are employed in a company in a so-called at will scheme. It means that they have not signed any formal or binding employment contract or have not signed any kind of agreement in terms of his or her employment with their employers.

This being the case, the law of the state has implicit permission that their employment can be ended at any given time, whatever occurs to their employers.

Meanwhile other employees have an employment contract signed with their employers, with a clause of “at will” to the condition that their employment may end depending on the employers’ option.

Q: I was a manager at a small company for many years. This company had a couple of lawsuits filed by disgruntled employees. Now I am in the process of establishing my own business. How can I prevent lawsuits by employees?

A: You can’t. Our legal system allows individuals to file lawsuits, meeting a fairly minimal threshold, when they believe they have been wronged. And while employers may and often do ultimately prevail, even winning can represent a significant expense to your company – one that most would prefer to avoid if at all possible.