News & Analysis as of

Employment Contract Confidentiality Agreements Whistleblowers

Husch Blackwell LLP

Thought Leadership SEC Charges Public Companies with Violations of Whistleblower Protection Rule

Husch Blackwell LLP on

On September 9, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced settlements with seven public companies for using employment, separation, and other agreements that violated rules prohibiting actions to impede...more

WilmerHale

SEC Continues Scrutiny of Provisions That Might Impede Whistleblowers

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On September 9, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced settled charges against seven public companies for violations of certain whistleblower protections provided by Rule 21F-17 under the Securities...more

Perkins Coie

Whistleblower Protection Remains SEC Priority

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Last week, the SEC announced settled charges against seven public companies for use of agreements that the SEC alleges have provisions that violate the whistleblower protection rule. Coincidentally, I recently recorded a...more

Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP

Move Over Non-Competes: Why NDAs May Be the Next Antitrust Enforcer Focus

On August 20, a federal judge issued a nationwide injunction blocking the FTC’s proposed non-compete clause rulemaking that had been set to go into effect today. Had it gone into effect (and it may still at some point, as the...more

Woods Rogers

CFPB Warns Employee Confidentiality Agreements May Violate Whistleblower Protections

Woods Rogers on

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued the Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-04 warning financial institutions that broad employee confidentiality agreements may violate the whistleblower...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

CFPB: Confidentiality Agreements Can’t Deter Whistleblowers from Reporting Alleged Violations

Ballard Spahr LLP on

The CFPB warned on July 24, 2024,  that confidentiality agreements that employees of a company are required to sign likely violate federal law if those agreements imply that employees could face retaliation from their...more

Ius Laboris

Whistleblower Confidentiality Unveiled

Ius Laboris on

Confidentiality clauses in employment contracts typically aim to protect an employer’s confidential information, but there are limitations on the extent to which they can restrict whistleblowing activities....more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

SEC Takes on Nondisclosure Agreements to Protect Whistleblower Program; Fines Firm $10 Million

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in recent years has taken an aggressive stance against employers over employment agreements that the agency believes impede its whistleblower program—as highlighted by a $10...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

SEC Continues to Police Confidentiality Provisions for Theoretical Whistleblower Suppression

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) levied an $18 million fine against J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC (“JPMS”) for allegedly including overbroad release provisions in settlement agreements. This marks the continuation...more

White & Case LLP

How to Avoid Risk of SEC Whistleblower Rule Violations in Connection with Settlement Agreement Confidentiality Provisions

White & Case LLP on

In March 2023, we published an alert concerning the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") whistleblower protection rule and how to minimize the risk of violations in connection with employee-related documents.1 Last...more

BakerHostetler

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

BakerHostetler on

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

Womble Bond Dickinson

Recent Whistleblower Enforcement Actions Highlight SEC Focus On Employee Agreements

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In September, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced the settlement of three enforcement actions for violations of SEC whistleblower protection laws. In the actions, the SEC asserted that the...more

Sherman & Howard L.L.C.

The SEC Blows the Whistle on Improper Confidentiality Provisions

On Friday, September 29, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a cease and desist and $10 million civil money penalty against D.E. Shaw & Co, L.P. (“DESCO”). DESCO is a registered investment advisor...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

The Who, What, and When on Illinois Employment Agreements Under the Workplace Transparency Act

The Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (WTA) (Public Act 101-0221) is designed to protect employees, consultants, and contractors who truthfully report alleged unlawful discrimination and harassment or criminal conduct in...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

Proskauer Delivers Webinar on Settling Employment Claims

On December 12, Proskauer partners Allan Bloom, Elise Bloom, and Harris Mufson delivered a webinar focused on how recent developments in the law impact the ground rules and key strategies for settlement in four distinct areas...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

UPDATE: California Federal Court Permits Former Bank Internal Auditor’s Whistleblower Claims to Proceed

A California federal court—in Erhart v. BofI Holding, Inc., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14755, Case No. 15-cv-02287 (S.D. Cal. Sept. 11, 2017)—recently denied BofI Federal Bank’s (“BofI’s”) motion to dismiss the Sarbanes-Oxley...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Time to Review Internal Confidentiality Agreements

Foley & Lardner LLP on

There’s not a whole lot of new ground to cover as to why an employer or contractor would want to implement confidentiality agreements. However, forcing them on workers is a whole different story....more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

California District Court Addresses Whistleblower’s Self-Help

In Erhart v. BofI Holding, Inc., Case No. 15-cv-02287, (S.D. Cal. Feb. 14, 2017), a bank’s internal auditor reported alleged misconduct to federal agencies, engaged in self-help discovery by appropriating the bank’s...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

SEC Continues Crackdown on Employer Whistleblower Restrictions

Takeaways: - SEC is targeting contract terms that appear to restrict contact with the SEC or require employee whistleblowers to waive monetary recoveries. - Express disclosure of these rights in severance...more

Carlton Fields

The Chill is Gone: SEC Wants Unfettered Whistleblowers

Carlton Fields on

The SEC continues its efforts to support whistleblowers. The whistleblower program promulgated by the Commission under the Dodd-Frank Act offers rewards to individuals who report securities law violations. As we have...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

SEC Blows the Whistle on Confidentiality Agreements

Foley & Lardner LLP on

Thanks to a recent enforcement action brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it may be time to review and revise the confidentiality provisions in employment agreements, severance agreements, employee...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

SEC Cracks Down On Employment Agreements That Stifle Corporate Whistleblowers

On April 1, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) gave a boost to corporate whistleblowers, reaching its first settlement with a company accused of stifling whistleblowing activity through the use of...more

NAVEX

SEC’s 2014 Report on Dodd-Frank Whistleblowing Program: Key Takeaways and Trends Companies Should Expect for 2015

NAVEX on

On November 17, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued its 2014 Annual Report to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program and it is clear that the program is going strong. Following are six key takeaways...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

Watchdogs Petition SEC to Strengthen Prohibitions Against Impeding Complaints to SEC

On July 18, 2014, a coalition of plaintiff-side lawyers and government watchdog groups proposed ways to strengthen the SEC whistleblower program in two petitions filed with the SEC. The groups urged the SEC to update Rule...more

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