On February 10, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced two proposed amendments to its whistleblower program rules.
As we previously reported, a closely divided SEC adopted a final rule implementing...more
2/17/2022
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Internal Reporting ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retaliation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
2021 was another blockbuster year in the whistleblowing and retaliation arena. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Office of the Whistleblower has now issued in excess of $1 billion in whistleblower...more
1/12/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Internal Reporting ,
OSHA ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Theranos ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
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 16, 2020, the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a former IT analyst’s whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that he lacked an objectively reasonable belief that his complaints implicated one of the enumerated...more
8/18/2020
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Cybersecurity ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Controls ,
Internal Investigations ,
Internal Reporting ,
Popular ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wire Fraud
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 May 8, 2019, the House Committee on Financial Services passed H.R. 2515, the Whistleblower Protection Reform Act of 2019, which would amend Section 922 of Dodd-Frank to extend the statute’s anti-retaliation protections to...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
On February 15, 2019, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of Andeavor Corporation f/k/a Tesoro Corporation on a SOX whistleblower claim, concluding that the plaintiff lacked an objectively...more
The Southern District of Florida recently denied a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a former employee’s Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claims, finding that the plaintiff sufficiently alleged that she...more
10/24/2017
/ Data Security ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
GAAP ,
Internal Reporting ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
OSHA ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Whistleblowers
The Northern District of New York recently denied a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a former employee’s Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claim, finding that the plaintiff sufficiently alleged that he had an objectively...more
The Northern District of Illinois recently dismissed an Indiana-based employee’s claims for retaliatory discharge in violation of common law, focusing on the nature of the connection (or lack thereof) to Illinois and noting...more
8/16/2017
/ Common Law Claims ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Reporting ,
Involuntary Reduction in Force ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Whistleblowers
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently granted a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claim brought by an ex-project manager, finding that Plaintiff failed to...more
8/16/2017
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Internal Reporting ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Retaliation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Split of Authority ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee recently emphasized the limited scope of what constitutes protected activity under the Dodd-Frank Act’s (the Act) whistleblower protection provision,...more
On June 7, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a whistleblower retaliation claim under the Dodd-Frank Act because the plaintiff failed to report his complaint of alleged securities...more
In one of the first cases to address the standard governing a motion for summary judgment in a Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation case, Judge Jed S. Rakoff ruled that two former executives of Vista Outdoor Inc. (the...more
On June 22, 2016, Judge Daniels of the Southern District of New York dismissed SOX and Dodd-Frank whistleblower claims, ruling that Plaintiff’s alleged internal complaints did not constitute protected activity, as they did...more
6/29/2016
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Transfers ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Internal Reporting ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblowers
On October 23, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California largely denied a motion to dismiss a whistleblower retaliation claim brought by a company’s former general counsel, ruling that: (I) the SOX...more
10/30/2015
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Board of Directors ,
CEOs ,
Directors ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Personal Liability ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Termination ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On September 8, 2015, the United States District Court for the Central District of California dismissed a whistleblower retaliation claim, ruling that Dodd-Frank’s anti-retaliation provision only protects whistleblowers who...more
On September 10, 2015, the Second Circuit issued its highly anticipated decision in Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy, ruling (in a 2-1 decision) that Dodd-Frank’s whistleblower protection provision applies to internal complaints (i.e.,...more
9/11/2015
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Ambiguous ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
In response to the disagreement amongst courts regarding the scope of Dodd-Frank’s employment retaliation protections, on August 4, 2015, the SEC issued an “interpretive rule” clarifying that individuals who have not reported...more
The Second Circuit recently entertained oral argument in Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy, focusing on whether the Dodd-Frank whistleblower protection provision covers individuals who only complain internally about alleged securities law...more
On February 6, the SEC filed its third amicus brief defending its interpretive rule on Dodd-Frank’s anti-retaliation provision, 15 U.S.C. §78u-6(h)(1). The impetus is a ruling out of the Southern District of New York in...more
On December 5, 2014, the Southern District of New York in Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy, No. 14-cv-523, ruled that an employee who complains internally about securities law violations does not qualify as a “whistleblower” under the...more