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
In the Supreme Court’s first decision interpreting Dodd-Frank’s whistleblower retaliation provisions, the Court unanimously held that internal whistleblowing is not protected under Dodd-Frank. The highly anticipated ruling...more
2/26/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
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
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
While the U.S. Supreme Court may take a narrow view of the Dodd-Frank Act’s protections for whistleblowers by limiting them to those who report violations to the SEC, experts say such a decision could be a “Pyrrhic victory”...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), published updated regulations Monday to bring its whistleblower bounty efforts more in line with the SEC’s. The rules were proposed last August and generally provide more...more
It is common for employers to require employees whose job duties require access to confidential, sensitive, and/or proprietary information to sign confidentiality and/or non-disclosure agreements as a condition of employment....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
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
With President Barack Obama's signature on Wednesday, the Defend Trade Secrets Act ("DTSA" or "Act") has now become law. Where trade secrets were once protected only at the state level, the DTSA now federalizes trade secrets...more
5/16/2016
/ Asset Seizure ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
Ex Parte ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
New Legislation ,
Private Right of Action ,
Trade Secrets ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
With its passage by the House of Representatives, the Defend Trade Secrets Act ("DTSA" or "Act") has now cleared both houses of Congress and will be sent to President Obama for his approval. Where trade secrets were once...more
5/6/2016
/ Asset Seizure ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
Ex Parte ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Pending Legislation ,
Popular ,
Private Right of Action ,
Trade Secrets ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
On August 4, 2015 the Securities and Exchange Commission issued interpretive guidance elaborating its view that the anti-retaliation provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act apply equally to...more
8/7/2015
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Bank of America ,
Chevron Deference ,
Citigroup ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Reporting ,
Popular ,
Rule 21F ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
TD Ameritrade ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
In a much-anticipated move, the SEC on April 1, 2015 commenced a cease-and-desist action against KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) alleging its confidentiality agreements violated Dodd-Frank’s whistleblower regulations. KBR...more
The SEC released its Fiscal Year 2014 Annual Report (the “Report”) to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program on November 18, 2014. The Report analyzes the tips received over the last twelve months by the SEC’s...more
OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee (“WPAC”) met on September 3-4, 2014. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor, OSHA, addressed the Committee and discussed recent results and initiatives of OSHA’s...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced the latest whistleblower bounty awarded under the Dodd-Frank Act, which authorizes rewards for original information about violations of securities laws....more
Yesterday, in Lawson v. FMR LLC, a divided U.S. Supreme Court decided its first case addressing the whistleblower protections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). The question before the Court: do those protections extend only to...more
A whistleblower who took sensitive company data from his employer and turned it over to the IRS has won his retaliation claim at the Department of Labor under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s (“SOX”) whistleblower protection...more
On Tuesday, June 4th, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its first decision interpreting the Sarbanes Oxley Act’s whistleblower protection provision, affirming a decision by the U.S. Department of Labor’s...more