On June 22, 2016, Judge Daniels of the Southern District of New York dismissed SOX and Dodd-Frank whistleblower claims, ruling that Plaintiff’s alleged internal complaints did not constitute protected activity, as they did...more
6/29/2016
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Transfers ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Internal Reporting ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblowers
On June 6, 2016, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the Minnesota District Court’s grant of summary judgment on SOX and Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claims based on the plaintiff’s failure to establish a reasonable belief...more
6/14/2016
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Objective Unreasonableness Standard ,
Oracle ,
Popular ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities Fraud ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination ,
Whistleblowers
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
5/24/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Review Board ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Front Pay ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Termination ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
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
4/15/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Review Board ,
Back Pay ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Discipline ,
Fraud ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Wage Deductions ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
OSHA recently released its final rule implementing the whistleblower provisions of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (“CFPA”). The following are the key features of the rule...more
3/23/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Review Board ,
Adverse Employment Action ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
OSHA ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
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
On March 2, 2016, an Illinois Appellate court upheld a jury verdict awarding over $3 million to Plaintiff James Crowley (Plaintiff) on his whistleblower retaliation claim under the Illinois State Official and Employee Ethics...more
Two courts in the Northern District of Illinois recently ruled that the Illinois Whistleblower Act (IWA) (740 ILCS § 174/5) provides for individual liability. Bello v. Village of Skokie, No. 14-cv-1718 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 2,...more
On February 12, 2016, the Ninth Circuit rejected a former maintenance manger’s whistleblower retaliation claims under the Energy Reorganization Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5851 (“ERA”), concluding that he failed to engage in in a...more
On January 28, 2016, OSHA issued a revised Whistleblower Investigations Manual (“Manual”) outlining procedures for the handling of retaliation complaints under the various whistleblower statutes that OSHA oversees. Chapter 3...more
On February 2, 2016, the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the SOX whistleblower retaliation claim in the closely watched case of Weist v. Tyco Electronics Corp., No. 15-2034. We have posted on key events during the...more
On December 15, 2015, the District of Connecticut refused to dismiss a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, ruling that: (1) the heightened Rule 9(b) pleading standard for fraud claims does not apply to SOX whistleblower...more
On October 23, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California largely denied a motion to dismiss a whistleblower retaliation claim brought by a company’s former general counsel, ruling that: (I) the SOX...more
10/30/2015
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Board of Directors ,
CEOs ,
Directors ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Personal Liability ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Termination ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
In Cardenas v. M. Fanaian, D.D.S., Inc., Case No. F069305 (Cal. App. 5 Dist.), a California Court of Appeal determined that Plaintiff Cardenas could pursue a California Labor Code Section 1102.5 retaliation claim against her...more
10/30/2015
/ Damages ,
Disclosure ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Code ,
Law Enforcement ,
Popular ,
Protected Activity ,
Public Policy ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Theft ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
On August 26, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted summary judgment on a whistleblower retaliation claim under Section 806 of SOX, holding that Plaintiff Ivor Hill failed to establish a...more
On September 10, 2015, the Second Circuit issued its highly anticipated decision in Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy, ruling (in a 2-1 decision) that Dodd-Frank’s whistleblower protection provision applies to internal complaints (i.e.,...more
9/11/2015
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Ambiguous ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York recently found that two former employees of Eihab Human Services (Company) raised a genuine issue of material fact as to whether they were discharged in retaliation...more
8/13/2015
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Disclosure ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicaid ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Pretext ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
State False Claims Acts ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
In Wallace v. Tesoro Corp., the Fifth Circuit revived a SOX whistleblower complaint that was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, finding that the plaintiff’s alleged belief that the company...more
8/12/2015
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
GAAP ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
OSHA ,
Reasonableness Factors ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wire Fraud
The New Jersey Appellate Division recently upheld sanctions of more than $191,000 to Sunhillo Corporation (Company) in connection with its defense of claims under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act, Fulton...more
In Nazif v. Computer Sciences Corporation, No. 13-cv-5498 (N.D. Cal. June 17, 2015), the Northern District of California granted Defendant Computer Sciences Corp. (Company) summary judgment on Plaintiff Nazif’s Dodd-Frank...more
The Second Circuit recently entertained oral argument in Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy, focusing on whether the Dodd-Frank whistleblower protection provision covers individuals who only complain internally about alleged securities law...more
On May 28, 2015, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an employee who reports allegedly fraudulent conduct engages in protected activity under SOX where he or she has a reasonable belief that the activity reported is...more
The ARB recently addressed the standard for proving that protected activity was a “contributing factor” in adverse employment actions. It concluded that evidence showing that an employer would have made the same adverse...more
The Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently ruled that an employee’s SOX whistleblower retaliation claim failed as a matter of law because no causal connection existed between his complaints and termination and the employer...more
In a jury verdict issued on March 26, 2015, a supervisor for the nation’s largest ferry system was awarded $1 million because the jury concluded that his employer demoted him as an act of retaliation in violation of the...more