Not April Fool’s for one public-company registrant, as the SEC filed its first settled action today over corporate confidentiality provisions that run afoul of Dodd-Frank whistleblower protections. The clause in question was part of the company’s standard internal-investigation script and required investigation interviewees to sign an acknowledgement that they couldn’t discuss the investigation or its subject matter without prior approval of the Law Department. The company paid a $130,000 fine, changed its provision to allow whistleblower reporting to SEC and DOJ, and remediated as to prior employee signatories.
We’ve been following the issue here and here.
In re KBR, Inc., AP File No. 3-16466, Rel. No. 34-74619 (SEC April 1, 2015)