The Lithuanian Whistleblower Protection Law

Lithuanian Whistleblower Protection Law overview

Lithuania enacted amendments to the country’s existing whistleblower protection laws in February 2022, to transpose the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive’s requirements into Lithuanian law. The updated law establishes protections for whistleblowers as required by the EU Whistleblower Directive and goes further, expanding the scope to protect reports of breaches of both European Union law and violations of Lithuanian criminal law. 

The new legislation covers all public and private organizations with at least 50 employees, requiring them to establish mechanisms to allow for internal whistleblower reports and to protect whistleblowers. Employers must also appoint a person to investigate whistleblower claims and then follow-up with a report on whether those claims are valid. The law protects whistleblowers and those assisting them from retaliation for submitting a report; and allows them to report their concerns externally to the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania.

What does the Lithuanian Whistleblower Protection Act cover?

The Act adopts the minimum standards for whistleblower protection outlined in the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive. These requirements include: 

• A secure and confidential channel for receiving whistleblower reports must be in place. 
• Acknowledgment of the receipt of every whistleblowing report must be provided to the whistleblower within two days; and a summary of the investigation so far must be provided within 10 days. 
• An impartial person or department must be appointed to follow up on the reports. 
• Records must be kept of every report received in compliance with confidentiality requirements. 
• There must be diligent follow-up of the report by the designated person or department. 
• Feedback on the follow-up or investigation must be given to the whistleblower within three months of receiving the report. 
• All processing of personal data must be done in accordance with GDPR.

Confidentiality, retaliation and disclosures

Organizations with fewer than 250 employees are also allowed to establish a joint whistleblower program in coordination with other small businesses. They are also allowed to outsource management of the hotline system to an independent third party.

Anonymous report intake and management

Technically, Lithuania’s law does not extend whistleblower protections to anonymous reports. That said, a company can receive anonymous reports anyway, and consider the claims in an anonymous report when trying to determine whether a legal or compliance violation has happened. Moreover, if the identity of an anonymous reporter is later revealed, that person can still claim the anti-retaliation protections established under the law. 

The whistleblower protections include confidentiality, a prohibition against retaliation, and no liability for disclosing necessary information to the report. The law also provides whistleblowers the right to legal assistance in submitting their reports.

What are the risks of non-compliance?

Lithuania’s whistleblower protection law doesn’t prescribe any specific sanctions for companies that fail to establish a whistleblower program, nor any penalties for companies or individuals who retaliate against a whistleblower.