The Cabinet Office said Friday it will begin offering a hotline for whistle-blowers on April 3, two days after a law takes effect to protect corporate employees and civil servants who expose illegal acts from dismissal and other forms of retribution.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The new service will be offered by the Planning Division of the Cabinet Office's Quality of Life Policy Bureau, with counseling experts receiving inquiries from and giving advice to employees, employers and civil servants between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. The Planning Division's phone number is –

3581-4989.

The legislation, which cleared the Diet in June 2004, specifies that entities violating the law are barred from taking retaliatory action against those who unveil their misdeeds.

The immunity law presupposes that whistle-blowers have reported the illegal acts by their firm or government agency to the entities that have jurisdiction over them.

The law authorizes whistle-blowers to expose the illicit acts to the media and other outsiders if they fear the entities may destroy evidence of their wrongdoing.

It also empowers whistle-blowers to tell the media and other outsiders of such illegal acts if those they accuse have not started an investigation within 20 days of being informed of the claims.