After her retaliation claim was dismissed by a lower court, a woman decided to appeal her case against her former employer to a federal appellate court, in a case that could just as likely happen to Maryland employees.

In May 2006, the woman was hired by a credit union in her home state as its new collections manager. More than a year later, she was promoted from her position as collections manager and awarded a raise. Five months later in December 2007, she made the assertion that her employer was potentially committing acts of fraud.

Soon after, the CEO of the company began complaining about the woman's ability to perform her job, and by the following June her responsibilities were revoked. Within two weeks, the woman made calls to the Virginia-based National Credit Union Administration and the FBI, attempting to report the credit union for its allegedly fraudulent activities.

In August 2008, her pay was reduced, and on Oct. 8 she was terminated. Around the same time, she sent a letter detailing her concerns with the credit union to the NCUA.

Her subsequent lawsuit alleging wrongful termination for her attempted whistle-blowing was dismissed in November 2010 on the grounds that she had sent the letter after she was terminated. The NCUA had not confirmed the receipt of her letter until Oct. 21, 2008, making it seem like she was expressing her concerns after being terminated.

But the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found that her concerns were previously mentioned to the NCUA and the FBI when she phoned both agencies in June 2008. This judicial panel believed that a jury could have found that she was legally protected in both June and October of that year, giving her a valid reason to sue her employer for wrongful termination.

Source: Business Insurance, "Whistle-blower credit union worker can pursue retaliation suit: Appeals court," Judy Greenwald, Dec. 20, 2011