News & Analysis as of

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Whistleblower Protection Policies Severance Agreements

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is a United States federal statute signed into law on July 21, 2010. The Act was passed in response to the Great Recession of the late 2000s and... more +
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is a United States federal statute signed into law on July 21, 2010. The Act was passed in response to the Great Recession of the late 2000s and includes broad reforms related to many aspects of the financial and banking industry. Notable sections of the Act include stricter regulations of the derivatives market, as well as the Volcker Rule, which restricts the trading practices of FDIC-insured institutions.    less -
BakerHostetler

Employers Beware: Broad Confidentiality and Severance Clauses May Violate Whistleblower Protection Laws

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Employers should check their confidentiality and severance agreements for a common oversight that, for some, is becoming a costly error. Recent enforcement activity by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Rule...more

Akerman LLP - HR Defense

Jingle All the Way to the SEC: Employers (Even Privately Held) Under Scrutiny for Language in Separation Agreements Impeding SEC...

While jingle bells have only just begun to ring, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement bells have been ringing steadily throughout year. In recent months, the SEC announced significant settlements with...more

Freiberger Haber LLP

Enforcement News: SEC Charges Investment Advisor With Violating Whistleblower Protection Rule

Freiberger Haber LLP on

We have often written about the SEC’s whistleblower program and, in particular, the success of the program with respect to detecting and preventing violations of the federal securities laws. The success of the program...more

Holland & Knight LLP

SEC to Issuers: Retaliating Against or Impeding Whistleblowers Is Not Zen

Holland & Knight LLP on

Public companies should be mindful not to interfere with or retaliate against whistleblowers, and stretching is best reserved for the yoga mat, not the numbers in a company's public disclosures. So says the U.S. Securities...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

SEC Grants Eligibility Waiver to Issue Whistleblower Award

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently awarded $3 million to joint whistleblowers despite concluding that the whistleblowers did not satisfy the technical eligibility requirements for receiving an award. See...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

SEC Charges More Public Companies for Confidentiality Agreements That Might Deter Whistleblowers

In the past two years, the SEC has charged six public companies with violating SEC Rule 21F-17, which prohibits confidentiality agreements that could impede employees from making whistleblower claims directly to the SEC....more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

SEC Whistleblower Protection: Recent Cautionary Tales and New Best Practices

Although 2017 has barely begun, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has continued to aggressively pursue enforcement actions against companies for whistleblower-related violations. As part of its initiative, the SEC...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

OCIE Staff to Examine Registered Advisers' Policies and Agreements for Whistleblower Rule Compliance

Proskauer Rose LLP on

On October 24, 2016, OCIE published a risk alert noting that the SEC exam staff intends to examine registrants' compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act's whistleblower provisions. The alert noted recent enforcement actions...more

Burr & Forman

SEC Fines Company for Agreements Restricting Whistleblowers

Burr & Forman on

The SEC has fined an Atlanta company $265,000 for using various severance agreements restricting whistleblower activities. The Dodd-Frank Act added ’34 Act § 21F encouraging whistleblower programs. The SEC adopted Rule...more

Fisher Phillips

SEC Cracks Down On Anti-Whistleblower Severance Agreements

Fisher Phillips on

The federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued six-figure fines to two different employers in the past several weeks, claiming that each crafted restrictive severance agreements that violated agency rules...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

Companies Should Revisit Severance and Other Agreements as the SEC Steps Up Enforcement Actions to Protect Whistleblower Rights

Womble Bond Dickinson on

In less than one week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced enforcement actions against two companies that had required their departing employees to waive their rights to any monetary recovery under the...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

The SEC Nixes Contractual Waivers of Whistleblower Recoveries

In April 2015, the SEC announced in a first-of-its-kind enforcement action that certain KBR, Inc. confidentiality agreements violated the whistleblower protections of the Dodd-Frank Act by requiring employees and former...more

Goodwin

SEC Enforcement Expands Scope of Prohibited Provisions in Employment-Related Agreements

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Summary - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its second significant enforcement action against an employer based on confidentiality and release provisions that the SEC asserts will discourage...more

Burr & Forman

SEC Fines Company for Agreements Restricting Whistleblowers

Burr & Forman on

The SEC has fined an Atlanta company $265,000 for using various severance agreements restricting whistleblower activities. The Dodd-Frank Act added ’34 Act § 21F encouraging whistleblower programs....more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

SEC Bounty Hunters Take Heart: SEC Fines Company $265,000 for Using Severance Agreements That Provided a Waiver of any Monetary...

Wednesday, the SEC announced that an Atlanta-based company, BlueLinx Holdings, is settling charges that its severance agreements contained provisions that in its view might impede employees from communicating directly with...more

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