Lloyd B. Chinn
Partner
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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According to data released by OSHA, the number of whistleblower complaints filed under SOX and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”) declined in 2018. OSHA received 45 complaints under the CFPA in 2018 (down 50% from the 90 complaints received in 2017) and 155 complaints under SOX (down from the 186 received in 2017). Whistleblower … Continue Reading
On February 26, 2019, the Ninth Circuit affirmed much of a jury’s approximately $11M verdict finding that a former general counsel was discharged in retaliation for reporting alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) violations. Wadler v. Bio-Rad Labs., Inc., No. 17-cv-16193. Background Sanford Wadler, then the former General Counsel of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (the “Company”) … Continue Reading
On February 15, 2019, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of Andeavor Corporation f/k/a Tesoro Corporation on a SOX whistleblower claim, concluding that the plaintiff lacked an objectively reasonable belief that the company was misreporting its revenue to the SEC. Wallace v. Andeavor Corp., No. 17-cv-50927. Background Plaintiff, a Vice … Continue Reading
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 to the ARB of the Trump Administration. The ARB issues final agency decisions on behalf of the Secretary of Labor in … Continue Reading
On December 21, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California stayed a plaintiff’s whistleblower retaliation claim under SOX (which was not subject to mandatory arbitration) while granting a motion compelling arbitration of the plaintiff’s remaining employment discrimination and retaliation claims. Anderson v. Salesforce.com, Inc., No. 18-cv-06712-PJH. Background Plaintiff alleged that he … Continue Reading
On July 12, 2018, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued its largest whistleblower award ever, approximately $30 million, as part of its Dodd-Frank whistleblower program. This is the first award under the Trump Administration, and only the fifth award that the CFTC has issued since the inception of its whistleblower bounty program. Notably, … Continue Reading
On June 28, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) voted in an open meeting on several final rules and rule proposals that will have a material impact on the Commission’s whistleblower program. Most notably, the SEC approved a rule proposal that would modify its Rule 21F, which defines who is a … Continue Reading
We previously reported in March and last October on a whistleblower litigation brought by Charles Erhart, a former Bank of Internet Holding, Inc. (BofI) internal auditor. On December 3, 2015, in a separate action, the shareholders of BofI brought a derivative suit, based in part on the facts of the whistleblower case, claiming BofI’s board of directors … Continue Reading
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently granted a motion for summary judgment against a Plaintiff claiming retaliatory blacklisting under SOX, holding that a former employer’s policy of refusing to conduct business with plaintiff was not actionable under the circumstances of the case. Kshetrapal v. Dish Network, 2018 U.S. Dist. … Continue Reading
On February 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that an individual is not covered by the anti-retaliation provision of the Dodd-Frank Act unless they have provided information regarding a violation of law to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers, No. 10-1276, 583 U.S. ___ (2018). Somers was … Continue Reading
Last week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a terminated CEO’s complaints about his board of directors’ managerial decisions did not qualify as protected whistleblowing under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) nor under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 (“DFA”). Verfuerth v. Orion Energy Sys., Inc., No. 16-3502, 2018 WL 359814 (7th Cir. … Continue Reading
On December 5, 2017, the SEC announced a whistleblower award of more than $4.1 million to an overseas former company insider. The SEC declined to disclose the identity of the whistleblower or the company at issue. The order noted that the tipster voluntarily reported original information that prompted an SEC investigation which uncovered an extensive … Continue Reading
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 of the United States. Blanchard v. Exelis Systems Corp./Vectrus Systems Corp., ARB Case No. 15-031 (August 29, 2017). In so ruling, … Continue Reading
On July 6, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed a whistleblower claim after determining that the plaintiff did not qualify as a whistleblower under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”). Reyher v. Grant Thornton, LLP, No. 16-1757 (E.D. Pa. July 6, 2017). Background The plaintiff, … Continue Reading
On June 26, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review whether individuals who do not report alleged securities law violations to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are “whistleblowers” protected by the anti-retaliation provision of the Dodd-Frank Act. Somers v. Digital Realty Trust, Inc., 850 F.3d 1045 (9th Cir. 2017), cert. granted, No. 16-1276 … Continue Reading
On April 28, 2017, the United States Department of Labor Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) allowed a whistleblower retaliation claim under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) to proceed even though the purported protected activity alleged in the complaint made no reference to ACA provisions. The case is Gallas v. The Medical Center of … Continue Reading
On May 22, 2017, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or the “Commission”) adopted several additions to its whistleblower rules. Among other things, the amendments expand the Commission’s power to pursue anti-retaliation claims on behalf of whistleblowers and, like the SEC, now prohibit confidentiality agreements that “impede” a whistleblower’s communications with the CFTC. The CFTC … Continue Reading
On May 11, 2017, the Northern District of New York applied the Second Circuit’s standard for evaluating a Dodd-Frank retaliation claim in response to a motion to dismiss under F.R.C.P. Rule 12(b)(6). The court denied the employer’s motion to dismiss unlawful retaliation claims brought by a former employee under Dodd-Frank, finding that the whistleblower had … Continue Reading
Recently, a California federal court denied the defendant–employer’s motion for a new trial, upholding the jury’s $7.96 million verdict finding that the Company terminated its former general counsel for reporting alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations. See Sanford S. Wadler v. Bio-Rad Labs., Inc. et al., 2017 WL 1910057 (N.D. Cal. May 10, 2017).… Continue Reading
On May 2, 2017, the Securities and Exchanges Commission issued a Dodd-Frank whistleblower award of more than $500,000 to an unidentified company employee. According to the SEC, the individual reported information that prompted an SEC investigation and resulted enforcement action by the agency. Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower stated that … Continue Reading
On April 25, 2017, Digital Realty Trust Inc. asked the United States Supreme Court to decide whether an employee who files an internal complaint (as opposed to a complaint with the SEC) is covered by the Dodd-Frank Act’s whistleblower-protection provision. … Continue Reading
On April 25, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Dodd-Frank whistleblower award of nearly $4 million. This was the first bounty award that was issued from start-to-finish (i.e. from the preliminary determination stage through final order) since Trump’s inauguration. To maintain the whistleblower’s confidentiality, the SEC declined to disclose the organization involved. The agency did acknowledge, however, that … Continue Reading
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
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
Whistleblower Complaints Down in 2018
By Lloyd B. Chinn and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in OSHA Administration
Ninth Circuit Affirms Most of Jury Verdict in Former GC’s SOX Whistleblower Lawsuit
Fifth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment on SOX Whistleblower Claim
By Steven J. Pearlman, Lloyd B. Chinn and Edward Young on Posted in SOX Whistleblower Decisions
U.S. Department of Labor Appoints Three New Members to the ARB
By Lloyd B. Chinn and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in Key ARB Decisions, Uncategorized
California Federal Court Stays SOX Claim Pending Arbitration of Related Claims
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Pinchos Goldberg, Tony S. Martinez and Steven J. Pearlman on Posted in SOX Whistleblower Decisions
CFTC Issues $30 Million Whistleblower Award
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Andrew Sherwood on Posted in CFTC
SEC Votes in Favor of Proposal to Amend Whistleblower Rules to Comport with U.S. Supreme Court’s Holding in Digital Realty Trust
By Lloyd B. Chinn and Bassam Gergi on Posted in Dodd Frank, SEC
Update on BofI Whistleblower Litigation
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Austin McLeod on Posted in SOX Whistleblower Decisions
SDNY Grants Summary Judgment Against Plaintiff in SOX Blacklisting Suit
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Annabel Pollioni on Posted in SOX Whistleblower Decisions
U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Anti-Retaliation Provisions of Dodd-Frank Apply Only to Whistleblowers Who Report to the SEC
By Lloyd B. Chinn and Meika Freeman on Posted in Dodd Frank, SEC
Seventh Circuit Affirms Grant of Summary Judgment on Terminated CEO’s SOX And DFA Claims
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Bassam Gergi on Posted in Dodd Frank, SEC, SOX Whistleblower Decisions
SEC Issues $4.1 Million Award to Overseas Whistleblower
By Lloyd B. Chinn and Harris Mufson on Posted in Dodd Frank, SEC
DOL Allows SOX Claim Where Foreign Whistleblower Alleged Violation of US Law
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Rachel Fischer on Posted in SOX Whistleblower Decisions
E.D. Pennsylvania Dismisses Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Claim After Plaintiff Fails to Qualify as a Whistleblower
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Brett Schwab on Posted in Dodd Frank
U.S. Supreme Court To Review Scope Of “Whistleblower” Under Dodd-Frank
By Lloyd B. Chinn and Sunghee Sohn on Posted in Dodd Frank
ACA Retaliation Claim Survives Despite No Complaint About ACA Provisions
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Susan McAleavey on Posted in ACA
CFTC Amends Whistleblower Rules to Strengthen Anti-Retaliation Protections and Encourage Whistleblower Tips
By Lloyd B. Chinn and Noa Baddish on Posted in CFTC, Dodd Frank
The Northern District of New York Applies the “Reasonable Belief” Standard
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Dana N. Berber on Posted in Dodd Frank, SOX Whistleblower Decisions
California Federal Court Upholds $8 Million Jury Verdict In Former General Counsel’s Whistleblower Lawsuit
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Andrew Sherwood on Posted in Dodd Frank, SOX Whistleblower Decisions
SEC Issues Another Whistleblower Bounty Award
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Dana N. Berber on Posted in SEC
Supreme Court Asked to Review Scope of Dodd-Frank’s Whistleblower Provision
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and Noa Baddish on Posted in Dodd Frank
SEC Announces First Whistleblower Award During Trump Era
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris Mufson and McKenzie A. Wilson on Posted in Dodd Frank, SEC
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
Ninth Circuit — Dodd-Frank Protects Internal Whistleblowers
By Lloyd B. Chinn and Emilie Adams on Posted in Dodd Frank
