What is whistleblowing and how does the government protect whistleblowers?

Whistleblowing refers to the act of turning in or otherwise exposing people who behave unethically in a company and exposing the truth. The first law passed to protect whistleblowers was the Lloyd-La Follette Act of 1912, which protected federal employees who gave information to Congress. Wider protection for those who blow the whistle on dangerous, fraudulent, or unethical practices in their workplace has been in existence since the 1970s. The Whistleblower Protection Act was passed in 1989 and strengthened in 1994. In addition to federal laws, many individual states also have their own whistleblower protection laws. The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007 was introduced into Congress and was signed into law in November 2012.