In Yang v. Navigators Group, Inc. (S.D.N.Y. 2014), the court held the Dodd-Frank anti-retaliation statute does not clearly and unambiguously limit whistleblower protection to individuals who report violations to the SEC where the anti-retaliation provision simultaneously incorporates SOX protected reporting to supervisors. Courts continue to be split on the issue and the case offers a good analysis of existing law.  See our prior blogs on Murray and Asadi.

The court also noted that an employee is not required to communicate to the employer which laws the employer’s conduct allegedly violated.