On February 26, 2019, the Ninth Circuit affirmed much of a jury’s approximately $11M verdict finding that a former general counsel was discharged in retaliation for reporting alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”)...more
3/7/2019
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Reporting ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
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 23, 2019, the Seventh Circuit held that the ADEA’s prohibition of disparate impact discrimination do not extend to job applicants. Kleber v. CareFusion Corp., No. 17-cv-1206....more
On October 2, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania federal court denied a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, reasoning that Plaintiff sufficiently alleged...more
10/12/2018
/ Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Form 10-K ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pleadings ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblowers
On September 5th, Proskauer partner Steve Pearlman had the honor of delivering a webinar with EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, which Proskauer senior associate Danielle Moss moderated. Commissioner Feldblum is the co-author...more
On April 23, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled that a plaintiff’s SOX claim precluded his claim for common law retaliatory discharge. Cohen v. Power Solutions International, Inc., No....more
On February 22, 2018, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment against a Plaintiff who claimed that his employment was terminated in violation of the SOX whistleblower...more
3/1/2018
/ Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Email ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Insider Trading ,
Protected Activity ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Reversal ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Summary Judgment ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On February 12, 2018, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi recently denied a motion for summary judgment in a SOX whistleblower claim where the defendant company alleged that it terminated...more
On January 30, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted Defendant Public Service Electric & Gas Co.’s motion to dismiss a New Jersey common law wrongful termination claim in a whistleblower...more
On January 22, 2018, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict awarding approximately $1.5 million in damages to a radiation oncologist after finding that she had been constructively and wrongfully terminated in...more
2/1/2018
/ Appeals ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Public Policy ,
Retaliation ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California recently dismissed a putative class action alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), finding that the named plaintiff lacked standing to...more
10/30/2017
/ Article III ,
Background Checks ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Statutory Rights ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
In a recent decision in Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc. (Sept. 20, 2017), the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s ruling that an employer did not violate the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to...more
On August 25, 2017, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed a bill that would prohibit employers from asking applicants about their wage histories. The bill, known as the Illinois No Salary History Law, previously had been...more
The Northern District of Illinois recently dismissed an Indiana-based employee’s claims for retaliatory discharge in violation of common law, focusing on the nature of the connection (or lack thereof) to Illinois and noting...more
8/16/2017
/ Common Law Claims ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Reporting ,
Involuntary Reduction in Force ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Whistleblowers
The Southern District of New York recently dismissed Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claims brought by an employer’s ex-President and an ex-Director pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) on res judicata grounds, determining that...more
8/12/2017
/ Arbitration ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Res Judicata ,
Retaliation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a grant of summary judgment in an employer’s favor, dismissing a SOX and Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation case based on the plaintiff’s lack of an objectively reasonable belief of...more
8/7/2017
/ Appeals ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Objective Unreasonableness Standard ,
OFCCP ,
Reaffirmation ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities Fraud ,
Summary Judgment ,
Whistleblowers
On July 25, 2017, the Third Circuit allowed a plaintiff who was an in-house attorney to proceed with a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) based on its...more
7/31/2017
/ Appeals ,
CEPA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Ethics ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Patents ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Rules of Professional Conduct ,
Whistleblowers
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently granted a Rule 12(b)(1) and (6) motion to dismiss a former employee’s complaint alleging retaliation under the Illinois Whistleblower Act (“IWA”). Huang...more
On April 12, 2017, the Third Circuit partially revived a former in-house attorney’s whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against his previous employer. Danon v. Vanguard Group, Inc., No. 16-cv-2881....more
4/19/2017
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Remand ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State False Claims Acts ,
Vacated ,
Whistleblowers
In one of the first cases to address the standard governing a motion for summary judgment in a Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation case, Judge Jed S. Rakoff ruled that two former executives of Vista Outdoor Inc. (the...more
In Westawski v. Merck & Co., No. 14-cv-3239 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 18, 2016), the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted Defendant Merck & Co. (Company) summary judgment on Plaintiff Joni Westawski’s (Plaintiff) SOX whistleblower...more
10/31/2016
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fraud ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Controls ,
Mail Fraud ,
Market Research ,
Merck ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wire Fraud
A California Magistrate Judge in BofI Federal Bank v. Erhart ruled that a whistleblower’s attorney’s communications sent to federal regulators were protected by the attorney work product doctrine. No. 15-cv-2353 (S.D. Cal....more
9/29/2016
/ Abandonment ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Common-Interest Privilege ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
OCC ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Termination ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Whistleblowers ,
Work-Product Doctrine
On August 24, 2016, the Southern District of New York denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss a Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claim brought by its former co-CEO and Executive Chairman of its Board of Directors, finding...more
9/26/2016
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Form 10-K ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Termination ,
Whistleblowers
On February 18, 2016, the ARB dismissed a former employee’s whistleblower retaliation claim under Section 806 of SOX, concluding that he failed to show that his protected activity contributed to the decision to terminate his...more
On August 26, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted summary judgment on a whistleblower retaliation claim under Section 806 of SOX, holding that Plaintiff Ivor Hill failed to establish a...more