Ninth Circuit rejects “honest belief” defense in whistleblower retaliation case

(Source: National Law Review, February 12, 2019) 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in Frost v. BNSF Railway Co. is an important win for whistleblowers in that it rejects employers’ attempts to impose a heightened causation burden on whistleblowers and to weaken whistleblower protections laws by adding an “honest belief” defense. Frost adheres to the plain meaning of the FRSA’s whistleblower protection provision and clarifies that whistleblowers can prevail merely by showing that protected conduct played any role in the decision to take an adverse action.

Full story: National Law Review

Tuesday, February 12, 2019