Following our annual tradition — which started over a decade ago — we are analyzing the year's 10 most significant whistleblower and retaliation events.
As you'll see, in 2024, actions taken by a range of courts and...more
12/20/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Appointments Clause ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Article III ,
Asbestos ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Bribery ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Financial Institutions ,
Healthcare ,
Incentives ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Kickbacks ,
MI Supreme Court ,
OSHA ,
Qui Tam ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Requirements ,
Summary Judgment ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief we are joined by Daryl Leon, one of the leads of Proskauer’s Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition Group and Edna Guerrasio, senior counsel in the Labor &...more
Since 2015, the SEC has brought nearly two dozen enforcement actions for violations of the whistleblower protection rules under Rule 21F-17(a) against employers for actions taken to impede reporting to the SEC. The bulk of...more
10/19/2023
/ Carve Out Provisions ,
Compliance ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Penalties ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Separation Agreement ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Forfeiture clauses are one tactic. They provide a meaningful disincentive for employees to engage in competitive behavior.
Noncompetes are under siege on multiple fronts.
Originally published in Legal Dive - September...more
9/18/2023
/ Audits ,
Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Retention ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Forfeiture ,
Human Capital ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Proposed Rules
In 2011, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted Rule 21F- 17 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It prevents companies from, among other things, using confidentiality agreements to impede whistleblowing to...more
On November 17, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that a company and its CEO violated Rule 21F-17 of the Exchange Act by entering into confidentiality agreements with investors that...more
12/17/2021
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rule 21F-17 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On June 23, 2021, the SEC announced that Guggenheim Securities, LLC (“Company”) agreed to settle charges that it violated Rule 21F-17 by including language in its compliance manual and training materials that allegedly...more
On August 9, 2019, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed the Workplace Transparency Act (the “Act”) into law. The Act will apply to all contracts, agreements, clauses, or waivers entered into, modified, or extended on or after...more
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 August 10, 2016, the SEC announced that BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (Company) is settling charges that it violated Rule 21F-17 by requiring outgoing employees to waive whistleblower bounty awards in connection with severance...more
8/12/2016
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Government Agencies ,
Penalties ,
Rule 21F ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Severance Agreements ,
Termination ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) recently introduced the Whistleblower Augmented Reward and Non-Retaliation Act of 2016 (“WARN Act”), which aims to bolster whistleblower protections under both...more
On April 1, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its first settlement of an enforcement action under the SEC’s Rule 21F-17, which prohibits any person from taking “any action to impede an individual from...more