§ 6.9.4.3 PROTECTED ACTIVITY UNDER FEDERAL STATUTES.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 6.9.4.3 Protected Activity Under Federal Statutes. Under the various federal statutes that contain employee protection provisions, the express language of the statute, as well as administrative and judicial interpretations, has defined the terms and procedure of enforcement. Typical statutes describe protected activity in terms of "commencing a proceeding," "testifying at a proceeding," "assisting or participating in the proceeding," or other activity that "carries out the purposes of" the statute of which the whistleblower protection provision is a part.⁹⁷ Protected activities include the possession of an intention to engage in the protected activities.⁹⁸

Expansive interpretation of the statutes has extended the scope of protected activity to include contacting government agencies with information of interest regarding the regulation of the employee's place of occupation, raising concerns within the employee's place of occupation,⁹⁹ being "associated with" a co-worker who has complained about health and safety problems,¹⁰⁰ and refusals to perform assigned tasks if they are thought to be unlawful or to pose a risk of harm to the employee or the public.¹⁰¹

The passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 introduced a new wrinkle in whistleblower protection law that is likely to have...