News & Analysis as of

Sarbanes-Oxley Administrative Review Board Whistleblowers

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

ARB Denies Equitable Tolling of 180-Day Statute of Limitations Under SOX

On June 29, 2020, the Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) upheld the dismissal of a whistleblower retaliation complaint under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”) for failure to file within the 180-day statutory...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

ARB: “Hinting” at Filing a Whistleblower Complaint is Not Protected Activity

On October 31, 2019, the ARB held that an employee who merely “hints” that he or she intends to file a whistleblower complaint has not engaged in protected activity sufficient to invoke the whistleblower protection provision...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

ARB: No Protected Activity where Employee Inadvertently Informed Employer and Only “Hinted” at Filing Whistleblower Complaint

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL’s ARB rejected an employee’s SOX retaliation claim where he inadvertently provided information to his employer and only “hinted” that he was filing a SOX-protected complaint. The ARB seems unwilling...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

ARB: SOX Whistleblower Provision Does Not Apply Extraterritorially

In a pair of recently issued decisions, the Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board (ARB) held that Sarbanes Oxley’s anti-retaliation provision does not apply extraterritorially. Hu v. PTC, Inc., ARB Case No....more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

ARB Affirms Dismissal of SOX Whistleblower Claim Against Non-Public Companies

The ARB recently affirmed the dismissal of a whistleblower retaliation claim under Section 806 of SOX, holding an employer is not a “contractor” covered by SOX simply because it was a party to a contract with a publicly...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

U.S. Department of Labor Appoints Three New Members to the ARB

On January 8, 2019, the DOL announced Secretary Alexander Acosta’s appointment of three new members to the Administrative Review Board (ARB), filling vacancies that had been open for months, and marking the first appointments...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

ARB Rejects SOX Claim Due to Complainant’s Harassment

The ARB recently affirmed a motion for summary decision against a Complainant claiming retaliatory discharge under SOX, finding that he failed to demonstrate that he engaged in protected activity and that the Company would...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

Tenth Circuit Vacates ARB Whistleblower Decision

On October 17, 2017, the Tenth Circuit overturned the ARB’s decision in favor of complainant for want of protected activity under SOX. Dietz v. Cypress Semiconductor Corp., No. 16-9529 (Oct. 17, 2017). This decision rolled...more

Littler

DOL Flip-Flop: SOX's Anti-Retaliation Provisions Apply to Overseas Conduct After All

Littler on

In a late-August decision with potentially far-reaching implications for foreign and multinational employers, the United States Department of Labor Administrative Review Board (ARB) held that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's (SOX)...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

DOL Allows SOX Claim Where Foreign Whistleblower Alleged Violation of US Law

The Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board (ARB) recently held that a former employee of Exelis Systems Corporation who was employed in Afghanistan could bring a SOX claim even though he worked exclusively outside...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

Fourth Circuit Upholds Four-Year Front-Pay Award To Whistleblower

On May 20, 2016, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the decision of the ARB, finding that a former employee of Deltek, Inc. (Company) was retaliated against in violation of Section 806 of SOX and entitled to four years’ worth of...more

Orrick - Employment Law and Litigation

Bonus Points: ARB Upholds Whistleblower Order Challenging Bonus Plan

The Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) recently upheld an order finding a semiconductor company had constructively discharged a manager who complained the company’s bonus plan violated state wage and...more

Proskauer - Whistleblowing & Retaliation

SOX Whistleblower Receives $250,000 Award Related to State Wage Act Complaints

The ARB recently concluded that a former program manager was entitled to recover more than $250,000 in back pay and benefits under Section 806 of SOX based on his discipline and constructive discharge. The ARB clarified that...more

Proskauer - Whistleblowing & Retaliation

ARB Rejects SOX Claim of Employee Who Threatened Co-Worker

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

FordHarrison

Fifth Circuit Rejects SOX Whistleblower Claims Not Raised in Administrative Complaint; Adopts Liberal "Reasonable Belief" Pleading...

FordHarrison on

On July 31, 2015, the Fifth Circuit issued a decision that may have both a positive and negative impact on employers defending whistleblower retaliation claims under the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX). In this decision, the court...more

Littler

Sixth Circuit Changes Course on Proof Required to Show Protected Whistleblower Activity Under SOX

Littler on

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) provides anti-retaliation protection to whistleblowers who engage in “protected activity.” To engage in protected activity under SOX, the whistleblower must provide information to the Securities...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Safeguarding a Whistleblower’s Identity

Everyone knows that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers. It may be less obvious, however, that merely disclosing a whistleblower’s identity can constitute prohibited retaliation. Nevertheless,...more

Morgan Lewis

Fifth Circuit Finds SOX Violation in Disclosure of Whistleblower’s Identity

Morgan Lewis on

The Fifth Circuit affirms the DOL Administrative Review Board’s decision that employer disclosure of a whistleblower’s identity in a document retention notice constitutes an adverse action....more

Proskauer - Whistleblowing & Retaliation

5th Circuit: Outing Whistleblower Equals Adverse Action

On November 12, 2014, in Halliburton, Inc. v. Admin. Review Bd., 5th Cir. No. 13-cv-60323, the Fifth Circuit affirmed an ARB’s decision that disclosing the identity of a whistleblower may constitute an “adverse action” under...more

Orrick - Employment Law and Litigation

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Document Preservation Notices Can Lead to SOX Violation!

On November 12, 2014, the Fifth Circuit affirmed a Department of Labor finding that Halliburton retaliated against a whistleblower by including his name in a document preservation notice. The court also held that emotional...more

Orrick - Employment Law and Litigation

Tenth Circuit Issues its First Decision Interpreting SOX: Offers Broad Reading of the Act

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

Littler

No Longer Black and White, Is the "Definitively and Specifically" Standard Now Grey?

Littler on

While the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB) and the majority of federal courts once agreed that, in order to engage in "protected activity" under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), a whistleblower must...more

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