Can laws protect whistleblowers? Results of a naturally occurring field experiment

which federal employees reported wrongdoing and the effects on them for having done so. Laws intended to encourage whistle-blowing seem to have two desired effects: to reduce the incidence of perceived wrongdoing and to increase the likelihood of whistle-blowing. However, two unin-tended effects are also observed: perceived retaliation increased and whistle-blowers increas-ingly sought anonymity. The basic model predicting retaliation is essentially the same in the three time periods in which data were collected. Implications for research, practice, and the de-sign of future legislation are discussed