How Much Do Whistleblowers Get Paid?

The ranges by program

Each federal whistleblower program sets its own award range. The False Claims Act is the broadest and covers fraud against any federal program.

• False Claims Act, government intervened: 15 to 25 percent of the recovery
• False Claims Act, government declined and relator proceeds: 25 to 30 percent
• Securities and Exchange Commission: 10 to 30 percent where sanctions exceed 1 million dollars
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission: 10 to 30 percent on the same threshold
• Internal Revenue Service: 15 to 30 percent where amounts in dispute exceed 2 million dollars

What moves the percentage

Within the range, the award reflects what the whistleblower actually contributed. The factors that raise a share are the ones that made the case easier to prove.

• How specific and how non-public the information was when it was provided
• Whether the whistleblower reported internally first and gave the company a chance to correct
• How much assistance was provided during the investigation
• Whether the whistleblower had any role in the underlying conduct
• How much of the eventual recovery traces to the original disclosure

What a real award looks like

Abstractions are less useful than a real number. In a matter our attorneys handled, a former Outcomes Supervisor reported that an addiction treatment company mishandled controlled substances and billed federal programs for treatment that was not properly provided.

The case settled for 2 million dollars. The whistleblower received 230,000 dollars as the relator share, and separately settled a retaliation claim for 450,000 dollars plus costs and fees. The retaliation recovery was nearly twice the qui tam share, which is not unusual and is routinely overlooked.

What you pay

Whistleblower cases are handled on contingency. There is no fee for the initial review, and no fee unless there is a recovery. When a case succeeds, the False Claims Act also requires the defendant to pay the relator’s reasonable attorney fees and costs.

What actually reduces an award

The statutory range is 15 to 30 percent, but relators are often surprised by where inside that range they land. The factors that pull a share down are worth knowing before you act, because several are within your control.

• Delay. Waiting years while the fraud continued, when you could have reported, reduces the share and can also shorten the recoverable period.
• Participation. A role in the underlying conduct reduces the award, and a relator who planned and initiated the fraud can be barred entirely.
• Information already known. If the government or the public already had the substance of the allegations, your contribution is smaller and the public disclosure bar may apply.
• Limited cooperation. Declining interviews or being difficult to work with is noted and it matters.
• Interference with internal compliance. Under the SEC program specifically, obstructing an internal investigation lowers the award.

The retaliation recovery is frequently the larger one

Most people focus on the percentage and overlook section 3730(h). That is usually a mistake.

The qui tam share is a percentage of a government recovery that may take years and may not happen. A retaliation claim is yours, does not depend on the government intervening, and often resolves much sooner. Remedies are reinstatement with seniority, two times back pay with interest, and special damages including attorney fees.

In our Recovery Centers of America matter, the relator received 230,000 dollars as her qui tam share and separately settled the retaliation claim for 450,000 dollars plus costs and fees. The retaliation recovery was nearly twice the share, and it is the part of the case people forget to ask about.

Where your award comes from and when you see it

The award is paid from what the government actually collects, not from what a judgment says. That distinction determines timing and sometimes amount.

If a defendant settles and pays, the relator share follows within months of the settlement. If a defendant pays over time under an installment agreement, which is common where ability to pay is limited, the share arrives in the same installments. If a judgment cannot be collected, there is no award regardless of what was won.

This is why a defendant financial capacity is assessed early. A theory worth 50 million dollars against a company that can pay 4 million produces a case worth 4 million. Reputable counsel will tell you that at the outset rather than after two years of investigation.

State awards add to the federal share, and Pennsylvania has none

Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal government and the states. Around thirty states have their own false claims acts allowing recovery of the state share, with their own relator awards on top of the federal one.

Pennsylvania is not one of them. A Pennsylvania Medicaid case recovers the federal share under the federal statute, and there is no state award to add. New Jersey does have the New Jersey False Claims Act, so a case involving providers operating in both states is typically filed under both and recovers more on the same conduct.

For a scheme spanning many states, the difference is substantial. Our attorney Ross Wolfe has publicly advocated for Pennsylvania to adopt a state false claims act, and the arithmetic above is the reason it matters to relators here.