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Nuclear Whistleblower Protection And The Scope Of Protected Activity Under Section 210 Of The Energy Reorganization Act, Stephen M. Kohn, Thomas Carpenter

Antioch Law Journal

In 1978 Congress amended the Energy Reorganization Act in order to protect whistleblowers - employees who disclose potential violations of nuclear health and safety laws - from retaliation by their employers. 1 Since passage of the nuclear whistleblower protection amendment, the circuit courts of appeals are divided over the issue of what constitutes protected activity.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in 1984 that an employee must contact a "competent organ of government" to be protected. 2 The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and Tenth Circuits have disagreed, and have held that employees who disclose …