as clearly frivolous or vexatious or brought solely for harassment.” Although the district court concluded that Simonian’s claim was “not well-grounded in fact or in existing law,” it used none of the above NRS 357.180(2) descriptions. Apparently, however, the court determined that Simonian’s false claims action was “clearly frivolous,” since a frivolous action has been defined as one that is “baseless,” and “baseless” means that “the pleading is [not] well grounded in fact [or is not] warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification or reversal of existing law.”[38] As noted above, the FCA does not expressly state that a plaintiff may not sue the State or may not bring claims based on legislative budget requests. And no prior Nevada decisional law so interpreted the FCA. Thus, it cannot be said that Simonian’s false claims action was clearly frivolous. According to UCCSN, the false claims action was not well-grounded in fact or law because Simonian had repeatedly asserted the same claim, under different names, and those proceedings were “either dismissed or . . . lost on the merits.” UCCSN asserts that the district court could have reasonably concluded that Simonian’s intent in reasserting this matter, pursuant to an obviously nonapplicable statute, was to harass UCCSN. The district court, however, made no findings of harassment. Moreover, Simonian’s writ petition was voluntarily dismissed, apparently before UCCSN responded or the petition’s merits were addressed. The second and third “claims” arose from allegations of retaliation by the community college, not of UCCSN misappropriation, the latter of which was also dismissed before its merits were reached. Thus, the merits of Simonian’s salary concerns were addressed only in his 1999 administrative retaliation proceeding against the community college. As a result, unless the 1999 hearing officer’s decision is sufficient to show that Simonian’s FCA claim was not well-grounded in fact and law, there exists no basis for the district court’s award of attorney fees.[39] The 1999 administrative decision Because the hearing officer was not required to determine the merits of Simonian’s misappropriation allegations in the 1999 retaliation proceeding, and because those allegations were not purported to have arisen under the FCA, the administrative decision on Simonian’s retaliation hearing request may not be used to show that Simonian’s FCA claim was unfounded in fact or law. As previously mentioned, Simonian’s 1999 retaliation claim was brought under a whistleblower protection statute, NRS 281.641. The declared public policy of NRS Chapter 281’s disclosure provisions is to encourage state and local officers and employees “to disclose, to the extent not expressly prohibited by law, improper governmental action, and it is the intent of the Legislature to protect the rights of [the person] who makes such a disclosure.”[40] Thus, NRS 281.641(1) allows a state officer or employee who believes that he or she has experienced retaliation for having disclosed information concerning improper governmental action to apply to a hearing officer for a determination of the retaliation allegations.[41] The hearing officer must determine whether “the action taken was a reprisal or retaliatory action, [and] may issue an order directing the proper person to desist and refrain from engaging in such action.”[42] Nowhere in NRS Chapter 281 does it specifically authorize hearing officers to independently determine whether the government has actually undertaken “improper governmental action” or to remedy such conduct. Instead, NRS 281.641(1) merely ensures that a state employee “who discloses information concerning improper governmental action” is protected against retaliatory action incurred as a result of disclosing that information. Since the statute does not state whether “proof” of improper governmental action is required, it is ambiguous as to that issue, and we must look to reason and public policy to determine what the Legislature intended.[43] By enacting NRS 281.641, the Legislature aimed to encourage persons to come forward with information of employer wrongdoing by affording them protection against retaliatory action by their employer.[44] That purpose could be thwarted if a person is only protected if his or her allegations are proven correct. And because NRS 281.651 provides that a state officer or employee may not use the disclosure provisions to harass, explaining that those provisions “do not prohibit a [person] from initiating proper disciplinary procedures against [a state or local officer or employee] . . . who discloses untruthful information concerning improper governmental action,” the Legislature has separately addressed any improper conduct on the employee’s part. Thus, with respect to an NRS 281.641(1) reprisal/retaliation claim, the hearing officer must only determine whether a state employee has engaged in protected activity, i.e. , has disclosed information concerning alleged conduct that might constitute “improper governmental action.”[45] As a result, the hearing officer’s determination regarding whether Simonian’s allegations proved correct was unauthorized. Further, Simonian’s FCA allegations pertain to false claims as defined under NRS Chapter 357, not to “improper governmental action,” as defined at NRS 281.611(1). While the two categories might overlap, they do not always necessarily do so. Thus, any finding that UCCSN’s conduct did not constitute “improper governmental action” does not support the conclusion that Simonian’s false claims action was therefore necessarily premised on unfounded grounds. Accordingly, the district court improperly awarded UCCSN attorney fees as sanctions against Simonian under NRCP 11 and NRS 357.180. CONCLUSION Because an FCA plaintiff, who sues on behalf of the State, may not pursue a false claims action against the State, we affirm the portion of the district court’s order granting summary judgment to UCCSN. As the district court never reached the merits of Simonian’s action and the record contains insufficient information to support the district court’s determination that Simonian’s false claim action was not well-grounded in fact or law, however, we reverse the district court’s award of attorney fees as sanctions against Simonian. **********FOOTNOTES********** [1] NRS Chapter 357. [2] NRS 281.641(1) provides, in relevant part, as follows: If any reprisal or retaliatory action is taken against a state officer or employee who discloses information concerning improper governmental action within 2 years after the information is disclosed, the state officer or employee may file a written appeal with a hearing officer of the Department of Personnel for a determination of whether the action taken was a reprisal or retaliatory action. [3] Wood v. Safeway, Inc. , 121 Nev. ___, ___, 121 P.3d 1026, 1029 (2005). [4] Id. [5] NRS 357.040(1)(a), (b), (h); NRS 357.050; NRS 357.070; NRS 357.080; see also International Game Tech. v. Dist. Ct. , 122 Nev. ___, ___ P.3d ___ (Adv. Op. No. 13, February 9, 2006). [6] NRS 357.020. [7] Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States ex rel. Stevens , 529 U.S. 765, 780 (2000); accord Will v. Michigan Dept. of State Police , 491 U.S. 58, 64 (1989); see also United States v. Cooper Corp. , 312 U.S. 600, 604-05 (1941); United States v. Fox , 94 U.S. 315, 321 (1876) (noting that if a New York law intended to give the federal government “person” status, “[i]t would require an express definition to that effect”). [8] Pittman v. Lower Court Counseling , 110 Nev. 359, 363, 871 P.2d 953, 956 (1994) (pointing out that the court’s holding in Northern Nev. Ass’n Injured Workers v. SIIS , 107 Ne

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