Erin works for a dry-cleaning company that has a contract with the u. s. government. to save on cleaning fluid, her boss orders her to wash some clothes that are supposed to be dry-cleaned in a washing machine. when the courier hired to pick up the cleaned garments arrives, erin tells him about her boss' actions. erin tells no one else about what is going on and is later fired. erin: a. is not protected by the whistleblower statute because she failed to inform the proper party of the contract violation. b. is protected by the whistleblower statute in her state because she spoke up about her employer's actions. c. will be reinstated to her former job, because when she told the courier of the problem she was merely exercising her first amendment right to free speech. d. is not protected by the state whistleblower statute. it is inapplicable because the contract was with the federal government.