News & Analysis as of

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Whistleblowers KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root)

Thomas Fox - Compliance Evangelist

Internal Reporting and Whistleblowers During Layoffs

In Houston, we have experienced energy companies laying off upwards of 30% of their workforce, both in the US and abroad. Employment separations can be one of the trickiest maneuvers to manage in the spectrum of the...more

Baker Donelson

Small Business Securities Bulletin: Standard Confidentiality Provisions May Be Prohibited "Pretaliation" in Eyes of SEC

Baker Donelson on

As we discussed in our June 2011 Bulletin, available here, SEC rules promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), pursuant to Section 21F thereunder as enacted by the Dodd-Frank Wall...more

Polsinelli

SEC Takes Aim at Anti-Whistleblower Employment Agreements

Polsinelli on

On Aug. 15, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued its second fine in six days to an employer for drafting severance agreements that restricted former employees from collecting awards as whistleblowers. The fines...more

Perkins Coie

CFTC Proposes Rules to Align with SEC Whistleblower Program

Perkins Coie on

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed amendments last month to the regulations governing its whistleblower bounty program. A number of the changes are aimed at more closely aligning the CFTC’s...more

Littler

SEC Issues Cease-and-Desist Order Against Severance Agreement Clause Limiting Whistleblowers' Rights to Recover Bounty Awards

Littler on

On August 10, 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a cease-and-desist Order and imposed remedial sanctions against a publicly traded company for including language in its severance agreements requiring...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

Fenwick & West LLP

“You Know How to Whistle Don’t You?”—Whistleblowers Gain Even More Protection

Fenwick & West LLP on

The SEC recently issued guidance specifying that whistleblowers do not first have to take their concerns to the SEC in order to be covered by the SEC’s anti-retaliation rule. The guidance clarifies that those whistleblowers...more

BakerHostetler

2015 Mid-Year Securities Litigation and Enforcement Highlights

BakerHostetler on

Welcome to the 2015 Mid-Year Report from the BakerHostetler Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Practice Team. The purpose is to provide a periodic survey, apart from our team Executive Alerts, on matters we...more

Baker Donelson

Increased SEC and FINRA Scrutiny on Confidentiality Provisions

Baker Donelson on

Over the past several months, confidentiality provisions included in settlement agreements, employment or independent contractor contracts, or in other documents, have come under increased scrutiny in the financial industry....more

Thomas Fox - Compliance Evangelist

King Arthur Week – The Green Knight and the Protection of Whistleblowers – Part IV

We continue our King Arthur themed week with an exploration of one of the most interesting characters in the Arthur canon, The Green Knight, so called because his skin and clothes are green. The meaning of his greenness has...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

SEC Joins Agency Attack on Confidentiality Clauses in Employee-Related Agreements and Policies

In a recent enforcement action, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took action against a company for "using improperly restrictive language in confidentiality agreements with the potential to stifle the...more

Franczek P.C.

Confidentiality Clauses Under Increasing Scrutiny by Federal Agencies

Franczek P.C. on

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has become the latest federal agency to challenge the legality of employee confidentiality requirements. Earlier this month, the SEC instituted its first administrative proceeding...more

Epstein Becker & Green

SEC Enforcement Gives Employers a Strong Incentive to Clarify That Their Confidentiality Agreements Do Not Preclude Reporting...

Epstein Becker & Green on

The Securities and Exchange Commission? (“SEC”) has resolved its first enforcement action regarding a potentially overreaching confidentiality agreement following the “voluntary” revision of the agreement to state that it...more

Blank Rome LLP

Beware of Confidentiality Agreements with Employees; Make Sure They Don’t Stifle Whistleblowing

Blank Rome LLP on

On April 1, 2015, the SEC announced its first enforcement action against a company for utilizing language in a confidentiality agreement which could discourage whistleblowing....more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

SEC Takes Aggressive Approach to Fortify Dodd-Frank’s Whistleblower Rules

On April 1, 2015, the Securities & Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or “Commission”) fined a public company $130,000 for requiring employees involved in internal investigations to sign a confidentiality agreement that the...more

Epstein Becker & Green

Five Key Issues Confronting Financial Services Industry Employers

Epstein Becker & Green on

Employers in the financial services industry are faced with a growing number of employment law challenges. Whistleblower complaints are on the rise as regulatory agencies become more aggressive in their efforts to encourage...more

Goodwin

SEC Applies Whistleblower Protections to Confidentiality Arrangements

Goodwin on

Public companies should review their confidentiality arrangements for any provisions that may result in unintended violations of the Dodd-Frank Act’s whistleblower protections....more

Genova Burns LLC

SEC Targets Confidentiality Agreements That Stifle Whistle-Blowing

Genova Burns LLC on

On April 1, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced its first enforcement action and settlement against a company for violations of the whistleblower protection provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act...more

Brooks Pierce

Three Thoughts about the SEC’s First “Pretaliation” Case

Brooks Pierce on

I was on a flight last Wednesday when the SEC released the first of what whistleblower chief Sean McKessy has dubbed “pretaliation” cases against KBR, Inc. When I landed I had several emails from colleagues, asking, “Did you...more

Benesch

The SEC is Taking a Closer Look at Confidentiality Agreements to Ensure Potential Whistleblowers Not Restrained

Benesch on

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced on April 1, 2015 that it was instituting enforcement proceedings relating to the whistleblower provisions of the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer...more

Locke Lord LLP

Locke Lord QuickStudy: SEC Sends Clear Message - Companies Cannot Restrict Whistleblowers Via Employee Confidentiality Agreements

Locke Lord LLP on

On April 1, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its first enforcement action against a company for using improperly restrictive language in employee confidentiality agreements, noting that such limits...more

Allen Matkins

Could The SEC Ask Airlines To Produce Data On Delayed And Canceled Flights?

Allen Matkins on

The following story is fiction.   It was imagined following the SEC’s recently settled action against KBR, Inc. Airlines were caught completely off guard yesterday by SEC letters asking that they produce five years of...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

SEC Brings First Action Against Company for Potentially Stifling Whistleblowers With Confidentiality Statement

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged KBR, Inc., a Delaware corporation specializing in technology and engineering, with a Rule 21F-17(a) violation for using language in employee confidentiality statements...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

Ballard Spahr LLP

SEC Challenges Employee Confidentiality Agreements

Ballard Spahr LLP on

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced that it brought (and resolved) an enforcement action against a company for allegedly discouraging whistleblower complaints by requiring employees to sign...more

46 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 2

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide