Made, Not Born

Home care companies should fear whistleblowing! Finger-pointing by employees, former employees, contractors, etc., exposes home care companies to the risks of qui tam litigation, costly investigations and substantial fines and penalties. A home care company should embrace three truths about the creation of whistleblowers:

Truth #1: Whistleblowers are made, not born

A whistleblower rarely joins a company in order to undermine it. A whistleblower is rarely lured into the lucrative field of whistleblowing with a secret plan to seek wrongdoing in order to report it.

Rather, the most common reason for whistleblowing by present and former personnel is because they believe their home care employers do not value their input nor their concerns about company compliance. Billing questions are unanswered. Concerns about the employer's “Let's learn the rules as we go” attitude are ignored. Discussion leads to the staffer being branded a “troublemaker.”

This general perception of indifference or hypocrisy then interacts with whatever specific incidents triggered the staff member's feeling of unfair treatment and disrespect. It is this combination of factors that will frequently encourage the staffer to seek vindication (and financial reward) by telling the government about the very problems he or she tried to discuss with the organization.

Truth #2: Anyone may become a whistleblower

Many home care companies conclude that they face no whistleblower dangers because their people are happy and fulfilled. This attitude can be dangerously naive. First, the extent of an employee's dissatisfaction may be hidden. Second, the internal attitude problems or poor communications that lead to compliance problems may also mean that management personnel are out of touch with the needs, concerns and perceptions of front-line personnel.

Third, the universe of potential whistleblowers is far, far broader than disgruntled current employees. In addition to a company's current staff, any of the following categories of potential whistleblowers may lurk in its neighborhood: disgruntled past employees; disgruntled independent contractors, past and present; competitors, past, present and future; co-owners; collaborators and co-venturers in financial transactions; angry spouses, relatives and significant others; consultants, accountants and billing companies; attorneys from the plaintiff's bar; or compliance personnel who are thwarted from performing their duties.

It certainly is true that many HME companies have deeply loyal staffers. But that is not enough.