Proskauer Whistleblower Defense

Lloyd B. Chinn

Lloyd B. Chinn

Partner
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Lloyd B. Chinn is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group. He litigates employment disputes of all types before federal and state courts, arbitration tribunals (e.g., FINRA, JAMS and AAA), and before administrative agencies in New York and across the country. Lloyd's practice ranges from litigating compensation disputes to defending whistleblower, discrimination and sexual harassment claims. Although he represents employers in a wide range of industries, including law, insurance, health care, consulting, media, education and technology, he focuses a substantial portion of his practice on the financial services sector. He has tried to final verdict or arbitration award substantial disputes in this area.

Due to Lloyd’s litigation experience, clients regularly turn to him for advice regarding the full range of employment matters, including terminations, whistleblower policy and procedure, reductions in force, employment agreements, and employment policies. For example, in the wake of the financial crisis, he has counseled a number of firms through reductions in force and related bonus and deferred compensation disputes. Lloyd has also been retained to conduct internal investigations of allegations of workplace misconduct, including claims leveled against senior executives.

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Texas District Court Dismisses SOX Whistleblower Claim For Lack of Protected Activity

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Emilie Adams on Posted in Dodd Frank, SOX Whistleblower Decisions
On March 21, 2017, the Northern District of Texas dismissed a former employee’s whistleblower retaliation claim on the ground that her allegations of fraud were too far removed from potentially harming the shareholders of a publicly-traded company to be covered under SOX’s anti-retaliation protections. Brown v. Colonial Savings, F.A., No. 4:16-cv-00884 (N.D. Tex. Mar. 21, … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit — Dodd-Frank Protects Internal Whistleblowers

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Emilie Adams on Posted in Dodd Frank
On March 8, 2017, a split three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Northern District of California decision declining to dismiss a Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claim because the plaintiff did not report his concerns to the SEC. Somers v. Digital Realty Trust, 15-17352 (9th Cir. March 8, 2017).  The Ninth Circuit … Continue Reading

California District Court Addresses Whistleblower’s Self-Help

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Anthony DiBenedetto on Posted in Employee Document/Data Theft
In Erhart v. BofI Holding, Inc., Case No. 15-cv-02287, (S.D. Cal. Feb. 14, 2017), a bank’s internal auditor reported alleged misconduct to federal agencies, engaged in self-help discovery by appropriating the bank’s confidential information, and allegedly widely disseminated such information. When the bank alleged that this conduct violated the parties’ confidentiality agreement and state and … Continue Reading

Proskauer to Present on Managing Whistleblowing Employees at ABA Midwinter Meeting

By Lloyd B. Chinn on Posted in Best Practices, SOX Whistleblower Decisions
On Thursday March 23, 2017 at 9:00 a.m., Lloyd Chinn will speak on “Practical Advice and Tips for Managing Whistleblowing Employees: Where Do We Go After the Volcano Blows?” at the 2017 Midwinter Meeting of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law’s Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Chinn is a partner … Continue Reading

Proskauer Represents Employer Against Former Executive Found Liable for Snooping on Boss’s and Others’ Emails

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Jurate Schwartz on Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Employee Document/Data Theft, State-Specific Whistleblower Claims, Stored Communications Act
A former employee of the upscale outdoor furniture designer and manufacturer Brown Jordan recently failed in his bid to pursue whistleblower retaliation claims against the company and also found himself liable for snooping on his boss’s (and other’s) emails. A three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed the District Court’s summary judgment for the employer … Continue Reading

CFTC Proposes New Amendments to its Whistleblower Rules

By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Esther Pak on Posted in Dodd Frank
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or the “Commission”) has proposed numerous amendments to the Whistleblower Rules found in Part 165 of the CFTC’s Regulations. The Commission seeks to enhance the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and clarify staff authority to administer the whistleblower program through the proposed amendments. Significantly, the CFTC has proposed … Continue Reading

SEC Issues $22 Million Whistleblower Award

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Anthony DiBenedetto on Posted in Dodd Frank
On August 30, 2016, the SEC issued a $22 million whistleblower bounty award to an individual “whose detailed tip and extensive assistance helped the agency halt a well-hidden fraud” at the whistleblower’s employer. The Acting Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, credited the “company insider,” stating “[w]ithout this whistleblower’s courage, information, and assistance, it … Continue Reading

SEC Affirms Denial of Bounties to Three Purported Whistleblowers

By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Andrew Sherwood on Posted in SEC
On July 19, 2016, the SEC issued an order upholding the SEC Claims Review Staff’s (“CRS”) Preliminary Determination denying three claims for whistleblower awards.  The SEC’s order explains how the claimants’ bounty requests were properly denied for failing to meet the SEC’s eligibility requirements.  As we have previously discussed here, all but a few whistleblower … Continue Reading

SEC Whistleblower Chief Sean McKessy to Leave, Agency Announces

By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Andrew Sherwood on Posted in SEC
The SEC announced today the departure of Sean X. McKessy, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.  Mr. McKessy was the first to hold that role and started his post in February 2011.  Mr. McKessy is credited with developing and establishing the Dodd-Frank whistleblower bounty program from complaint intake to prosecution to the payment of substantial … Continue Reading

SEC Issues $17 Million Whistleblower Award

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Kelly Anne Targett on Posted in SEC
Yesterday, the SEC issued a stunning $17 million award to a former employee, whose “detailed tip” provided original information to SEC enforcement staff that “substantially advanced their investigation” into the whistleblower’s former employer.  The SEC specifically credited the “company insider” with allowing enforcement staff “to conserve time and resources in the investigation, and help[ing] staff … Continue Reading

No Bounty For Purported Whistleblower Tipster

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Christopher Bouriat on Posted in Dodd Frank, SEC
On May 31, 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an order upholding the SEC Claims Review Staff’s (“CRS”) Preliminary Determination denying a claim for a whistleblower award in connection with the enforcement action SEC v. CVS Caremark Corp.  Notice of Covered Action 2014-48 (“Covered Action”).  This order provides insight into a whistleblower … Continue Reading

Tennessee District Court Limits Scope of Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Claim

By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Natalie Phillips on Posted in Dodd Frank, False Claims Act, SOX Whistleblower Decisions
The Eastern District of Tennessee recently dismissed whistleblower claims, finding that the Plaintiff was not entitled to protection under Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank, or the False Claims Act (“FCA”).  Verble v. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC et al., 3:15-cv-00074 (E.D. Tenn. Dec. 8, 2015).  The court’s decision illustrates the sharp divide amongst courts regarding the scope of … Continue Reading

Highlights of SEC’s 2015 Annual Whistleblower Report

By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in SEC
On November 16, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Whistleblower (“OWB”) released its fifth Annual Report on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program to Congress, which details information on OWB’s activities and bounty payouts for the fiscal year, as described in our posts on the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Annual Reports. In its 2015 … Continue Reading

Second Circuit: Dodd-Frank Protects Internal Whistleblowers

By Harris Mufson, Steven J. Pearlman and Lloyd B. Chinn on Posted in Dodd Frank
Today, 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., complaints that are made by employees within the company and not to the SEC).  This creates a circuit split; it is directly at odds with the Fifth … Continue Reading

SEC Issues Interpretive Rule Regarding Definition of Dodd-Frank “Whistleblower”

By Lloyd B. Chinn, Steven J. Pearlman and Harris Mufson on Posted in SEC
In response to the disagreement amongst courts regarding the scope of Dodd-Frank’s employment retaliation protections, on August 4, 2015, the SEC issued an “interpretive rule” clarifying that individuals who have not reported alleged misconduct to the SEC may nevertheless qualify as “whistleblowers”.… Continue Reading

New York’s First Department: Harassment Claims Not Barred By Whistleblower Claim

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Harris Mufson on Posted in State-Specific Whistleblower Claims
As reported by New York Law Journal reporter Ben Bedell, the New York’s Appellate Division, First Department recently held that employees could file suit against their former employer for both sexual harassment and violation of New York’s whistleblower protection law even though the statute bars employees from seeking remedies available under any other law.… Continue Reading

SEC Announces Enforcement Action Regarding Employee Confidentiality Agreement

By Connie Bertram, Lloyd B. Chinn, Steven J. Pearlman and Harris Mufson on Posted in SEC
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 communicating directly with the Commission staff about a possible securities law violation, including enforcing, or threatening to enforce, a confidentiality … Continue Reading
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