Whistleblower Protection Act of 1778
The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1778 was an Act of Congress passed by the Second Continental Congress and signed into law by President of the Continental Congress Henry Laurens in 1778. It was the first piece of legislation concerning whistleblower protection in the United States passed by Congress. The act was created as a result of Continental Navy officer Esek Hopkins being reported on by fellow officers for torturing British prisoners of war. Congressional politicians, aware of the burdens the act placed on American civil servants, included in the act a provision for legal expenses in the event that whistleblowers were the subject of legal proceedings. Laurens signed the act into law in York, Pennsylvania on July 30, 1778.
Origins of 1778 Whistleblower Act
The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1778 was the first piece of legislation concerning whistleblower protection in the United States passed by the Second Continental Congress. The act was created as a result of the actions of Continental Navy officer Commodore Esek Hopkins, who was reported on by ten fellow officers in February 1777, including Richard Marven and Samuel Shaw, for torturing British prisoners of war imprisoned onboard the frigate while it was in the Providence River. The whistleblowers reported on Hopkins' use of torture by filing a petition to the Eastern Navy Board, then the Marine Committee, and ultimately the Second Continental Congress. Congressional politicians, aware of the burdens the act placed on American civil servants, included in the act a provision for legal expenses in the event that whistleblowers were the subject of legal proceedings. President of the Continental Congress Henry Laurens signed the act into law in York, Pennsylvania on July 30, 1778.The petition went as follows:
'''The Complaint Petitions as Filed by the Continental Navy Mariners'''