2022 saw highly impactful whistleblower and retaliation events primarily resulting from an active U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, an aggressive approach taken by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and...more
1/4/2023
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
NEPA ,
OSHA ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Uber ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On April 14, 2022, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the entry of summary judgment on claims under the Illinois Whistleblower Act and Illinois Jury Act, concluding that the plaintiff was not terminated for engaging in protected...more
4/19/2022
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Illinois ,
Retaliation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statutory Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On February 10, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced two proposed amendments to its whistleblower program rules.
As we previously reported, a closely divided SEC adopted a final rule implementing...more
2/17/2022
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Internal Reporting ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retaliation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The California Supreme Court has resolved an inconsistency that has divided the courts as to the proper evidentiary standard necessary to prove a whistleblower retaliation claim....more
2/10/2022
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Burden of Proof ,
CA Supreme Court ,
California ,
Evidence ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Reform ,
Retaliation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On January 27, 2022, the California Supreme Court settled an inconsistency that has divided the courts of appeal with respect to the proper evidentiary standard for whistleblower retaliation claims under California Labor Code...more
On November 17, 2021, the EEOC updated its technical guidance on COVID-19 and anti-discrimination with a new anti-retaliation section. The new section largely restates existing statutory anti-retaliation protections in the...more
On July 21, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that the whistleblower protections established in SOX are not restricted to employee whistleblowers, but also extend to shareholders. SEC...more
8/6/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Investigations ,
Internet Auctions ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Omissions ,
Rule 21F-17 ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Shareholders ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On April 12, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that the company demonstrated...more
On March 29, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that the plaintiff lacked an...more
On March 31, 2021, the Sixth Circuit addressed an issue of first impression in the circuit, holding that the False Claims Act’s (“FCA”) whistleblower protection provisions protect former employees from post-employment...more
On March 23, 2021, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed into law SB1480. As discussed below, the law makes significant changes to the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA), the Illinois Equal Pay Act (IEPA) and the Illinois Business...more
3/24/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Governor Pritzker ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
On December 17, 2020, the Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) of the U.S. Department of Labor affirmed the dismissal of a former employee’s whistleblower retaliation claim under Section 806 of SOX. The ARB concluded that the...more
On January 29, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim where the plaintiff failed to establish an employer-employee relationship with the...more
On September 30, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted an employer’s motion to dismiss a Dodd-Frank whistleblower claim on the ground that the alleged whistleblower did not complain to the...more
10/27/2020
/ Administrative Complaints ,
Administrative Remedies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
OSHA ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblowers
On September 23, 2020, by a vote of 3 to 2, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the adoption of a final rule implementing several changes to its whistleblower program, citing the need to “provide greater...more
10/8/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On July 16, 2020, the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a former IT analyst’s whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that he lacked an objectively reasonable belief that his complaints implicated one of the enumerated...more
8/18/2020
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Cybersecurity ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Controls ,
Internal Investigations ,
Internal Reporting ,
Popular ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wire Fraud
On June 15, 2020, Senator Kamala Harris and Representatives Jackie Speier and Jamie Raskin introduced the COVID-19 Whistleblower Protection Act (the “Act”), which seeks to provide protections for employees who blow the...more
6/18/2020
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Protected Activity ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The proposed Chicago COVID-19 Anti-Retaliation Ordinance (the “Ordinance”) that was the subject of our post on April 27, 2020, has now become law...more
On April 22, 2020, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, with the backing of several Aldermen, introduced the COVID-19 Anti-Retaliation Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which, if enacted, would prohibit Chicago employers from retaliating...more
4/29/2020
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
City Councils ,
Covered Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Local Ordinance ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Quarantine ,
Sick Employees ,
Statutory Penalties
On April 3, 2020, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-36, which, effectively immediately, prohibits Michigan employers from discharging, disciplining or otherwise retaliating against an employee who...more
On December 9, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that, as a matter of law, directors cannot be held liable under the anti-retaliation provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Zornoza v....more
1/16/2020
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Board of Directors ,
CEOs ,
CFOs ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On May 8, 2019, the House Committee on Financial Services passed H.R. 2515, the Whistleblower Protection Reform Act of 2019, which would amend Section 922 of Dodd-Frank to extend the statute’s anti-retaliation protections to...more
On February 15, 2019, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of Andeavor Corporation f/k/a Tesoro Corporation on a SOX whistleblower claim, concluding that the plaintiff lacked an objectively...more
On January 15, 2019, the First Circuit ruled that a plaintiff adequately alleges protected activity under the FCA whistleblower protection provision where he asserts that he reported concerns about his employer’s conduct that...more
On October 22, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a first-impression whistleblower retaliation claim under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”). Johnson...more
11/9/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
CFTC ,
Coercion ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Retaliation ,
Retroactivity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers