Pfizer Whistleblower Gets More than $51.5 Million

It wouldn’t be farfetched to call John Kopchinski, a Gulf War veteran, as a giant killer. The former Pfizer sales representative was the man behind the qui tam lawsuit which exposed Pfizer’s improper "off-labeling" marketing of Bextra.

It was Kopchinski’s instinct and training to save lives which caused him to fight a six-year legal battle against Pfizer. He was dismissed from the company for raising his concerns and at that time, he had a baby son and his wife was pregnant with twins.

And now, well, after Pfizer pleaded guilty to a felony charge for promoting Bextra and 12 other drugs for unapproved uses and doses, it was sentenced to pay $2.3 billion in civil and criminal penalties.

Kopchinski, the giant killer will also be getting more than $51.5 million as a result of his whistleblower lawsuit. He and five other whistleblowers will earn more than $102 million in payments from the U.S. government under the False Claims Act through which individuals can reap rewards for exposing corporate wrongdoing.

While it may seem like an easy way to make money for Kopchinski, whistleblowers are given the worst time by employers, in fact, some companies would even go to the extent of unjustly firing and “blackballing” the employee from getting other employment.

People, because of the fear of losing their jobs or who just want to stay out of trouble, meekly go along with their company’s illicit and illegal demands and activities. But employees should bear in mind that they are protected by state and federal laws from retaliation from employers.

There are actually many whistleblower laws in place such as certain provisions in the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the False Claims Act among many others.

A section from the False Claims Act expressly provides that “Any employee who is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment by his or her employer because of lawful acts done by the employee on behalf of the employee or others in furtherance of an action under this section…. shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make the employee whole.”

While telling the truth may sometimes be hard and not too many people have the courage to risk their jobs and their family’s future for the better good, Kopchinski’s $51.5 million victory reminds ordinary employees that crime does pay.

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