In the United States, legislation exists to protect whistleblowers from retaliation, and universities do their best to maintain confi¬dentiality throughout an investigation. “Pro¬tections are in place to keep complainants anonymous, but confidentiality can’t be abso¬lutely guaranteed — for example, if university policy is being violated, we have to report it,” says Allen. In some cases, the university can move complainants to a different lab. “But it is hard to deal with lesser acts of retaliation, such as the refusal to write a letter of recommendation,” admits David Wright, a former research integrity officer (RIO) at Michigan State Uni¬versity in East Lansing and the director of the ORI. Those contemplating blowing the whis¬tle should consider the university’s policies on misconduct.