Whistleblower who exposed Hyundai & Kia's engine defects rewarded $24 million by NHTSA

RahulNagaraj · 10th November 2021, 17:22

Last year, Hyundai Motors America and its sister company Kia Motors America were fined a sizeable amount of $210 million by NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). Both companies admitted to reporting inaccurate data and delaying recalls of 1.6 million vehicles that had engine defects.

Whistleblower who exposed Hyundai & Kia's engine defects rewarded million by NHTSA-hyundaikialogo.jpg

Now, the whistleblower who brought the safety violations to light has been rewarded $24 million. This is the first time the NHTSA has given a 'Whistleblower Award' and it is the maximum percentage, allowed by law, of the $81 million fine collected by the United States.

As per statute, NHTSA is allowed to award a maximum of 30% of the fine collected to whistleblowers, for bringing in information on any actions that could result in penalties of over a million dollars.

When the news broke out last year, Hyundai responded by stating that they would be taking immediate measures to improve safety. Kia, on the other hand, denied the allegations but agreed to a settlement to avoid a lengthy legal dispute.

Source: NHTSA

Link to Team-BHP news

lsjey · 10th November 2021, 17:58

High levels of competition, combined with short term focused profit management (and hence stock price and executive rewards) of companies, leads to such issues.

We should be happy that such companies are getting exposed, and more Whistleblowers are coming out with information. IMO, $24 million is a small reward to pay for ensuring the safety on roads.

Hope such laws exist in India and whistleblowers are rewarded sumptuously for the risk that they take.

Regards,
lsjey

callmeneo · 11th November 2021, 11:27

Will this give rise to more engineers coming forward or the OEM's will tighten their noose around employees ,tying them up legally? Or maybe the OEM's will care more about solving the problem rather than brushing it under the carpet. Can go either ways.

lsjey · 14th November 2021, 17:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by callmeneo

Will this give rise to more engineers coming forward or the OEM's will tighten their noose around employees ,tying them up legally? Or maybe the OEM's will care more about solving the problem rather than brushing it under the carpet. Can go either ways.

There is little chance of employees coming forward, as evidenced historically. Whistleblowers are few and far in between. While the incentives are definitely there, there are a lot of dis-incentives also. Things like:

1. The time it takes for an employee to blow the whistle and the case to be decided in their favour is still very long.
2. This wait time will be very stressful. Most of the time the opponents will be multi-billion dollar corporations with many lawyers. One needs nerves of steel to stand up to their bullying.
3. All this will take a toll on their personal life. Their career in the industry will be over.
4. Finally, all the reward money does not go to the whistleblower. A big chunk will go to their lawyers and supporters as well.

Regards,
lsjey

10th November 2021, 17:22	#1
RahulNagaraj Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,124 Thanked: 20,666 Times	Whistleblower who exposed Hyundai & Kia's engine defects rewarded $24 million by NHTSA Last year, Hyundai Motors America and its sister company Kia Motors America were fined a sizeable amount of $210 million by NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). Both companies admitted to reporting inaccurate data and delaying recalls of 1.6 million vehicles that had engine defects. Now, the whistleblower who brought the safety violations to light has been rewarded $24 million. This is the first time the NHTSA has given a 'Whistleblower Award' and it is the maximum percentage, allowed by law, of the $81 million fine collected by the United States. As per statute, NHTSA is allowed to award a maximum of 30% of the fine collected to whistleblowers, for bringing in information on any actions that could result in penalties of over a million dollars. When the news broke out last year, Hyundai responded by stating that they would be taking immediate measures to improve safety. Kia, on the other hand, denied the allegations but agreed to a settlement to avoid a lengthy legal dispute. Source: NHTSA Link to Team-BHP news Last edited by RahulNagaraj : 10th November 2021 at 17:23.
	(29) Thanks

10th November 2021, 17:58	#2
lsjey BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 432 Thanked: 954 Times	Re: Whistleblower who exposed Hyundai & Kia's engine defects rewarded $24 million by NHTSA High levels of competition, combined with short term focused profit management (and hence stock price and executive rewards) of companies, leads to such issues. We should be happy that such companies are getting exposed, and more Whistleblowers are coming out with information. IMO, $24 million is a small reward to pay for ensuring the safety on roads. Hope such laws exist in India and whistleblowers are rewarded sumptuously for the risk that they take. Regards, lsjey
	(12) Thanks

11th November 2021, 11:27	#3
callmeneo BHPian Join Date: Jul 2021 Location: KA03/KL09/MH12 Posts: 298 Thanked: 440 Times	Re: Whistleblower who exposed Hyundai & Kia's engine defects rewarded $24 million by NHTSA Will this give rise to more engineers coming forward or the OEM's will tighten their noose around employees ,tying them up legally? Or maybe the OEM's will care more about solving the problem rather than brushing it under the carpet. Can go either ways.
	() Thanks