Whistleblower Protection Laws
This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to laws that protect whistleblowers from retaliation, but do not include whistleblower reward provisions. You may also be interested in the following pages:
SEC Charges KBR with Violating Whistleblower Protection Rule
Posted 04/2/15
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
The SEC yesterday announced its first enforcement action against a company for including improperly restrictive language in confidentiality agreements that had the potential to stifle whistleblowers. According to the SEC, Houston-based global technology and engineering firm KBR Inc. violated Dodd-Frank Rule 21F-17 whistleblower protections by requiring witnesses in internal...
The Not So Friendly Skies: When "Saying Something" Leads to Retaliation
Posted 01/8/15
By Marlene Koury
We all know the motto: if you see something, say something. The thirteen senior United flight attendants making the news this week saw something, said something, and, as alleged in their complaint filed earlier this week, were fired in retaliation.
On July 14, 2014, while preparing to depart San Francisco with a nearly full 747 plane bound for Hong Kong, the attendants became aware that someone...
Sixth Circuit Finds Job Applicants Not Covered By FCA Whistleblower Retaliation Provisions
Posted 12/4/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
The whistleblower retaliation provisions of the False Claims Act offer broad relief to "employees" who are terminated, suspended, harassed or otherwise discriminated against by their employers for engaging in protected whistleblowing activity. Congress amended the statute in 2009 to expand these provisions beyond employees to also reach "contractors" and "agents" of a...
Fifth Circuit Rules Disclosing Identity of Whistleblower Illegal Whistleblower Retaliation Under SOX
Posted 11/20/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
And yet another important decision on the scope of the whistleblower retaliation provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). This one by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Halliburton, Inc. v. Administrative Review Board. Before the Court was the question of whether Halliburton's outing of an employee who complained to the SEC violated the whistleblower protections...
Second Circuit Clarifies Reach of Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Retaliation Protections
Posted 08/14/14
By Gordon Schnell
What it takes to make out a whistleblower retaliation claim under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act just got a little clearer thanks to the Second Circuit decision last Friday in Nielsen v. AECOM Technology Corp. There, the Court wrestled with exactly what kind of complaint a whistleblower needs to make to be protected under the statute enacted in the wake of the mighty Enron debacle. In doing so, the...
Sixth Circuit Rules on Mandatory Arbitration of Whistleblower Retaliation Claims
Posted 05/29/14
By Gordon Schnell
Mandatory arbitration clauses are all the rage these days with more and more companies insisting on these provisions in their dealings with customers and employees. It is no wonder why. Arbitrations are typically much less expensive, intrusive and protracted than litigating through the courts. Perhaps even more importantly, they can be used to bar class actions and discourage lawsuits altogether...
Supreme Court Takes Broad View of Whistleblower Protection
Posted 03/6/14
By Jason Enzler
A Supreme Court decision this week settled a brewing conflict among authorities on who can benefit from the anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). And the outcome is good for whistleblowers. The Supreme Court ruled that employees of private contractors and subcontractors who provide services to public companies can be protected whistleblowers...
Legislative Update: Proposed Amendment to Military Whistleblower Protection Act
Posted 12/19/13
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
The House last week approved section 1714 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would revamp what many believe to be the weak and ineffective Military Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998 (“MWPA”). This amendment, if passed, would strengthen the protections afforded to those in the military who report sexual assault, fraud or other misconduct. It was...
Fifth Circuit Eliminates Key Whistleblower Retaliation Protections Under Dodd-Frank – A Pyrrhic Victory for Corporations
Posted 08/29/13
By Gordon Schnell
In a legal ruling that many corporations are surely celebrating, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has significantly narrowed the scope of who qualifies as a whistleblower under the Dodd-Frank Act. It is only those individuals who actually provide information to the government (through the SEC or CFTC). If a whistleblower only reports internally, to a supervisor or through the company's...