10.2190/WR.17.3-4.c 33NP46738W223848 3 Whistleblowing in Organizations: A Logit analysis of Litigated Cases 283 302 20141016 20141016 20141016 20141016 33NP46738W223848.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=33NP46738W223848 3 Yvette P. Lopez Helen Lavan Marsha Katz DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois Governors State University, University Park, Illinois This study examines the issue of whistleblowing in organizations. As suggested by the literature, a variety of legal protections and issues were examined to predict case outcomes in future litigation by individuals who engage in the act of whistleblowing. We used chi square analyses and a logit model to predict when an individual plaintiff would prevail, and the results indicate that case characteristics including discrimination laws, safety behavior, sexual harassment, and refusal to participate in illegal activities are significant predictors. The odds of a finding in favor of the employee increase with the presence of these particular case characteristics. Our examination uses litigated cases as the source of data, which allows for a rich analysis of occurrences relating to whistleblowing in a large number of organizations. The results of this study suggest that individuals increase their chances for successful litigation when these specific issues of discrimination laws, safety behavior, sexual harassment, and refusal to participate in illegal activities are involved in the whistleblowing occurrence.

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