In the early days, most company Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) programs were more akin to Corporate Social Responsibility, with companies publicly highlighting initiatives that benefit their communities. They...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission awarded approximately $200 million to a single whistleblower earlier this month based on the individual’s “significant contribution” to the success of a CFTC action and two Related...more
Since 2015, pay gap disclosure has been front and center on the activist shareholder proposal landscape from an employment and workforce perspective. Following closely on the heels of tragic events of last summer and the...more
On January 13, 2021, prominent whistleblower attorney and a principal architect of the Dodd-Frank Act whistleblower program, Jordan A. Thomas, filed a complaint against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or...more
On September 23, 2020 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted amendments to 17 C.F.R. § 240.14a-8 (“Rule 14a-8”), raising the bar for shareholders seeking to force votes on proposals. The rule comes on the...more
On July 13, 2020, three prominent whistleblower law regulators spoke at PLI’s Corporate Whistleblowing in the Coronavirus Era 2020, which was co-chaired by Orrick partners Mike Delikat and Renee Phillips. With the standard...more
As we reported last month, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has continued to award numerous multi-million-dollar bounties under its Dodd-Frank whistleblower program notwithstanding the current COVID-19 crisis....more
The SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower (“OWB”) released its Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Report (the “Report”) to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program on November 15, 2019....more
The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) administer whistleblower claims under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. ...more
On July 16, 2019, three prominent whistleblower law regulators spoke at PLI’s Corporate Whistleblowing in 2019, which was co-chaired by Orrick partners Mike Delikat and Renee Phillips. ...more
For nearly five years, major U.S. corporations have been subject to intense scrutiny over their decisions on whether to release internal pay gap percentages in response to shareholder proposals by Arjuna Capital, LLC and...more
7/29/2019
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Executive Compensation ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
No-Action Letters ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Wage and Hour
Last week, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) filed its first disciplinary action involving cryptocurrencies, conforming with its stated 2018 goal of monitoring and supervising the largely unregulated...more
On September 6, the SEC issued awards totaling more than $54 million to two whistleblowers who provided critical information and continued assistance to the agency in an enforcement action. This large award follows another...more
On June 28, the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) voted to propose amendments to its whistleblower program. As SEC Chair Jay Clayton explained, the proposed changes would “strengthen the whistleblower...more
Last week, multinational mining giant Rio Tinto asked a federal court in Manhattan to shield its document disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from the public eye....more
3/16/2018
/ Confidential Information ,
Disclosure ,
Discovery ,
Document Productions ,
Energy Sector ,
Evidence ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Mining ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motion To Seal ,
Multinationals ,
Oil & Gas ,
Protective Orders ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Trade Secrets
The SEC released its Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Report (the “Report”) to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program on November 16, 2017. The Report analyzes the tips received over the last twelve months by the SEC’s...more
An individual who convinced a divided U.S. Supreme Court in 2014 that Sarbanes-Oxley’s (“SOX”) whistleblower protections extend to the employees of a public company’s contractors and subcontractors has ultimately lost her...more
On June 28, 2017, three prominent whistleblower law regulators spoke at PLI’s Corporate Whistleblowing in 2017, which was co-chaired by Orrick partners Mike Delikat and Renee Phillips. With the standard disclaimer that their...more
When Donald Trump was elected President of the United States in November, he vowed to “dismantle” the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”). In its place, Trump promised to replace the law...more
On March 8, 2017, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in Somers v. Digital Realty Trust Inc. that further widened a circuit split on the issue of whether the anti-retaliation provisions in the Dodd-Frank...more
The SEC released its Fiscal Year 2016 Annual Report (the “Report”) to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program on November 15, 2016. The Report analyzes the tips received over the last twelve months by the SEC’s...more
On September 28, 2016, the SEC announced that Anheuser-Busch agreed to pay $6 million to settle charges of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Dodd-Frank whistleblower violations. The SEC’s order stated that AB InBev violated...more
9/30/2016
/ Anheuser-Busch ,
Beer ,
Books & Records ,
Breweries ,
Bribery ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Controls ,
Joint Venture ,
Popular ,
Prejudgment Interest ,
Retaliation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Separation Agreement ,
Whistleblowers
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
8/12/2016
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Confidential Information ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employment Contract ,
Rule 21F ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Severance Agreements ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Waivers ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Today, the SEC announced that an Atlanta-based company, BlueLinx Holdings, is settling charges that its severance agreements contained provisions that it in its view might impede employees from communicating directly with the...more
The SEC released its Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Report (the “Report”) to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program on November 16, 2015. The Report analyzes the tips received over the last twelve months by the SEC’s...more