For local whistleblowers, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana's laws are restricting

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Whistleblowers in the Cincinnati area often end up unemployed with no recourse. Restrictive laws in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky mean what you don't know can hurt you.

Patricia Hulsmeyer used to work at a Cincinnati nursing home. She became aware of a patient who may have been abused.

“I reported it to the nursing home director of nursing,” Hulsmeyer said. “Then I told her I was going to call the family and I did that, and then I reported it to my immediate managers.”

The nursing home fired Hulsmeyer, so she sued as a whistleblower and lost.

“The law that’s known as Ohio’s whistleblower statute is not very effective in protecting employees who blow the whistle,” said employment attorney Bob Klingler.

He says Hulsmeyer’s case is not unusual. Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana all have very restrictive whistleblower laws that have very specific requirements to gain protection. For instance, you must make a reasonable and good faith effort to determine the accuracy of the information; you must first provide oral and written notification to the employer about the allegation and you can only notify a public official or agency that has regulatory authority over the employer.

Stephen Imm has defended employers against whistleblowers. And while he agrees Ohio's laws in particular do not favor employees, employers need to resist the impulse to retaliate against whistleblowers, even if the allegations are false.

“If the employee at least has a good faith reason to believe what he or she is saying, you can’t retaliate against them for that,” said Imm.

Hulsmeyer appealed her case and eventually won, but she says she would handle things much differently today.

“I was blown out of the water,” she said. “I was shocked to see how naive I was, not even thinking I would need an attorney.”

Both attorneys Local 12 interviewed say if you feel the need to blow the whistle on your employer -- before you do anything -- contact an attorney. The laws vary by state, industry and circumstance, and they are confusing.

[joedewitt]

That's because the idea of telling employer that you're going to blow the whistle on them who will then fire you for reporting them is insane. It is a system designed to protect the employer the people who in many cases were violating the law.