On June 7, 2022, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, relying on recent ARB decisions, held that a plaintiff who lived and worked for a Canadian subsidiary of a US company could not avail...more
7/18/2022
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Reporting ,
Multinationals ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On March 29, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida held that in order to engage in protected conduct under the False Claims Act (“FCA”), a plaintiff must specifically suspect that their employer...more
6/16/2022
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Reporting ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Whistleblowers
On June 28, 2021, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted the Company’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss after an executive claimed he was discharged in violation of the Dodd-Frank...more
11/11/2021
/ Brazil ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Government Investigations ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Reporting ,
Retaliation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Violations ,
Tax Fraud ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On July 26, 2021, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held, after a bench trial, that Plaintiff Botta failed to prove that Defendant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) terminated his...more
On April 12, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that the company demonstrated...more
On October 31, 2019, the ARB held that an employee who merely “hints” that he or she intends to file a whistleblower complaint has not engaged in protected activity sufficient to invoke the whistleblower protection provision...more
On July 19, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted an employer’s motion to dismiss a SOX whistleblower claim, holding that the Plaintiff—an in-house attorney—failed to allege sufficient facts...more
10/7/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
FRCP 9(b) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pleading Standards ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities Violations ,
Termination ,
Whistleblowers
On July 18, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that the Plaintiff did not have...more
8/7/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Investigations ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination ,
Whistleblowers
On June 3, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on SOX and Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claims, finding that the alleged...more
On April 29, 2019, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto introduced Assembly Bill A7384, which would amend and significantly expand New York’s whistleblower statute, N.Y.L.L. §§ 740, 741. The identical Senate version of this bill,...more
On April 2, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama denied a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, finding genuine issues of material fact...more
On February 26, 2019, the Ninth Circuit affirmed much of a jury’s approximately $11M verdict finding that a former general counsel was discharged in retaliation for reporting alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”)...more
3/7/2019
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Reporting ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
In Westawski v. Merck & Co., No. 14-cv-3239 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 18, 2016), the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted Defendant Merck & Co. (Company) summary judgment on Plaintiff Joni Westawski’s (Plaintiff) SOX whistleblower...more
10/31/2016
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fraud ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Controls ,
Mail Fraud ,
Market Research ,
Merck ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wire Fraud
On May 28, 2015, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an employee who reports allegedly fraudulent conduct engages in protected activity under SOX where he or she has a reasonable belief that the activity reported is...more