Managing Employee Compliance in Highly Regulated Industries — Hiring to Firing Podcast
The Labor Law Insider: Recent U.S. Supreme Court, NLRB Decisions Highlight Labor Issues in Higher Education
Podcast - The Latest on Antitrust and Non-Compete Agreements in Healthcare
Protecting Trade Secrets When Facing Lawsuits or Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures
Episode 138 -- Employee Relations and Engagement in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era
Day 19 of One Month to More Effective Continuous Improvement-Use of Social Media for Continuous Improvement
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to investigate companies for including language in their employment and separation agreements or retail client settlement agreements that potentially discourages...more
The SEC has begun to bring enforcement actions against companies whose employment and client agreements could appear to infringe on the right to report cases in violation of Section 21f-17(a) of the Exchange Act. On September...more
One of the most talked about subjects in corporate compliance is the issue of pre-taliation—an increasingly common enforcement target by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Matt Kelly and I did a recent podcast...more
Earlier this week, the SEC announced an enforcement sweep charging seven public companies with violating the whistleblower protections rule in various employment-related agreements. These charges reflect the SEC’s continuing...more
Last month, I wrote a blog post on the tone at the top, exemplified in Star Trek’s Original Series episode, Devil in the Dark. Based on the response, some passionate Star Trek fans are out there. I decided to write a series...more
The SEC has opened a new track in the whistleblower litigation derby. While SEC enforcement actions concerning whistleblower violations are nothing new, they typically involve claims that companies precluded employees from...more
Over the last several years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has been laser-focused on the use of so-called “off-channel communications” in the financial services industry. On the theory that employees’ use of...more
After the U.S. Supreme Court held that Harvard University engaged in unlawful racial discrimination against Asian Americans in its efforts to achieve student body diversity, businesses have rightly sought legal guidance on...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has updated their Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs policy with special attention paid to messaging platforms when detecting and investigating potential misconduct and law violations....more
On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided that an employee who blows the whistle under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) does not need to show that their employer had retaliatory intent to find...more
Who may be interested: Registered Investment Companies, SPACs, Investment Advisers Quick Take: Following a 3-2 vote, the SEC adopted final rules to enhance disclosure and provide additional investor protections in IPOs by...more
Tackling the tricky issue of how a plaintiff proves an employer's “intent,” in an opinion issued today, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, corporate whistleblowers have...more
On January 16, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a record $18 million sanction against JP Morgan for Rule 21F-17(a) violations, sending the strongest message yet that the SEC is cracking down on...more
The Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Opinion Continues To Spawn Challenges to DEI Programs - Businesses can expect continued challenges to DEI programs, as emboldened opponents to these programs seek to expand the reach...more
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
Background - Under Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Congress expanded protections for whistleblowers reporting possible violations of federal securities laws to the...more
This newsletter provides updates employers should be aware of heading into 2024, including an outline of the updated 2024 retirement and welfare plan limits, instructions related to the “gag order” attestation requirements...more
On November 9, 2023, the United States Chamber of Commerce (“Chamber”) and a coalition of business groups filed suit in the Eastern District Court of Texas against the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), alleging the...more
The SEC continues to review non-disclosure agreements and other confidential business information provisions of publicly traded companies to ensure whistleblowers are not restricted from freely communicating with the agency...more
In a recently settled administrative proceeding, the Securities and Exchange Commission took the position that an employer took action to impede potential whistleblowers when as a condition of receiving separation pay, the...more
On September 8, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it settled charges against Monolith Resources LLC, a privately held technology and energy company headquartered in Nebraska. The SEC’s...more
In an increasingly digital world, financial firms need to be mindful of the variety of electronic communication channels that their employees use for work. Even where firms require employees to use firm-managed email networks...more
The staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Competition issued a statement on June 15, 2023, sternly criticizing the use of confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements that “impede” the FTC’s ability to conduct...more
Over the last several years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) have been laser-focused on the use of so called “off-channel communications” in the...more
When announcing the much publicized $125 million fine against JP Morgan for violating recordkeeping rules, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Chair stated that financial institutions “did not act as if they...more