Proskauer Whistleblower Defense

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Pinchos Goldberg

Associate
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Pinny Goldberg is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department. Pinny represents employers in a broad array of matters before federal and state courts, FINRA and other arbitration panels, and administrative agencies, including the EEOC and its state equivalents, and in pre-litigation negotiations. Matters he works on include discrimination and harassment, wage and hour, wrongful discharge, whistleblowing and retaliation, covenants not to compete, breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, and tort and contract claims.

In addition to handling litigation and dispute resolution, Pinny regularly advises clients on a wide variety of employment issues, including drafting, reviewing and revising handbooks and workplace policies. He also addresses questions and concerns related to hiring, wage and hour issues, employee leave, performance problems, terminations of employment, and separation agreements and releases.

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NLRB Permits Confidentiality Restrictions During Internal Investigations

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in Best Practices, Investigations, Rule 21F-17
As reported in Proskauer’s Labor Relations Update blog, the NLRB issued an important opinion on December 17, 2019 relating to employer rules requiring confidentiality from employees during workplace investigations.  Apogee Retail LLC d/b/a Unique Thrift Store, 368 NLRB No. 144 (2019). The Board held, in a reversal of the Obama-era Board, that employers may require … Continue Reading

ARB: “Hinting” at Filing a Whistleblower Complaint is Not Protected Activity

By Steven J. Pearlman, Pinchos Goldberg and Abigail Rosenblum on Posted in Key ARB Decisions
On October 31, 2019, the ARB held that an employee who merely “hints” that he or she intends to file a whistleblower complaint has not engaged in protected activity sufficient to invoke the whistleblower protection provision in SOX.  Hoptman v. Health Net of California, ARB Case No. 2017-0052, (Oct. 31, 2019). Background Complainant was a … Continue Reading

U.S. Senate Introduces Bill to Extend Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protections

By Harris Mufson, Pinchos Goldberg and Tony S. Martinez on Posted in Dodd Frank, Legislation
On September 25, 2019, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced the Whistleblower Programs Improvement Act (the “Act”), which would extend anti-retaliation protections under the Dodd-Frank Act to internal complaints.  The Act mirrors a bill introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this year in direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Digital … Continue Reading

Second Circuit Holds Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Retaliation Claims are Arbitrable

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in Dodd Frank
On September 19, 2019, the Second Circuit affirmed a New York District Court’s order compelling arbitration of a whistleblower retaliation claim under the Dodd-Frank Act.  Daly v. Citigroup Inc., et al., No. 18-665. Background Plaintiff worked in the Private Bank Division of the bank.  She allegedly complained to bank attorneys and human resources employees that … Continue Reading

District of Rhode Island Dismisses In-House Attorney’s SOX Whistleblower Claim for Lack of Protected Activity

By Steven J. Pearlman, Pinchos Goldberg and Tony S. Martinez on Posted in SOX Whistleblower Decisions
On July 19, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted an employer’s motion to dismiss a SOX whistleblower claim, holding that the Plaintiff—an in-house attorney—failed to allege sufficient facts to show he had an objectively reasonable belief that fraud had occurred.  Colesanti v. Dickinson, No. 18-491. Background Plaintiff was an … Continue Reading

Eastern District of Pennsylvania Grants Summary Judgment on SOX Claim

By Lloyd B. Chinn, Tony S. Martinez and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in SOX Whistleblower Decisions
On July 18, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that the Plaintiff did not have an objectively reasonable belief that the defendant violated any SEC regulation.  Reilly v. Glaxosmithkline, LLC, No. 17-cv-2045. Background Plaintiff worked in … Continue Reading

4th Circuit Vacates ARB SOX Whistleblower Decision for Lack of Protected Activity

By Steven J. Pearlman, H. Ren Morris and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in SOX Whistleblower Decisions
On June 13, 2019, the Fourth Circuit overturned the ARB’s decision in favor of a complainant, ruling that the plaintiff had not engaged in protected activity under the SOX whistleblower protection provision by complaining of a company’s use of a mandatory arbitration policy that allegedly was overly broad.  Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. v. U.S. Dep’t … Continue Reading

SDNY Dismisses SOX and Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Claims Against Private Company

By Steven J. Pearlman, Jacob L. Hirsch and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in Dodd Frank, SOX Whistleblower Decisions
On June 3, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on SOX and Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claims, finding that the alleged whistleblowing did not involve fraud related to a public company.  Tellez v. OTG Interactive, LLC, No. 15-cv-8984. Background Defendants operate restaurants and … Continue Reading

SEC Awards Joint Whistleblowers $3 Million Even Though Information Was Not Voluntarily Given

By Steven J. Pearlman, Annabel Pollioni and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in SEC
On June 3, 2019, the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower announced a $3 million award to two whistleblowers who provided the SEC with information that led it to investigate and successfully bring an enforcement action for securities fraud that affected retail investors.  Because the whistleblowers submitted their tip to the SEC jointly, they will share … Continue Reading

House Financial Services Committee Passes Bill to Expand Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protection to Internal Whistleblowers

By Steven J. Pearlman, Philippe A. Lebel and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in Dodd Frank, Legislation
On May 8, 2019, the House Committee on Financial Services passed H.R. 2515, the Whistleblower Protection Reform Act of 2019, which would amend Section 922 of Dodd-Frank to extend the statute’s anti-retaliation protections to employees who report alleged misconduct internally. Digital Realty Trust v. Somers H.R. 2515 was proposed in direct response to the U.S. … Continue Reading

Update on Bofl SOX Whistleblower Litigation

By Lloyd B. Chinn, Pinchos Goldberg and Annabel Pollioni on Posted in SOX Whistleblower Decisions
This is an update on our previous blog posts regarding the Erhart v. BofI Holding, Inc. case. We previously reported in October 2017 and March 2017 on a whistleblower litigation brought by Charles Erhart, a former Bank of Internet Holding, Inc. (Bofl) internal auditor.  In late 2018, the parties filed cross-motions for judgement on the … Continue Reading

Expansive Amendments to New York Whistleblower Protection Law Introduced

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in Legislation, State-Specific Whistleblower Claims
On April 29, 2019, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto introduced Assembly Bill A7384, which would amend and significantly expand New York’s whistleblower statute, N.Y.L.L. §§ 740, 741.  The identical Senate version of this bill, Senate Bill S3683, was introduced by Senator Brad Hoylman on February 12, 2019.  The proposed amendments aim to bolster whistleblower protections for employees … Continue Reading

Hospital Sues Whistleblower for Failing to Report Information And Choosing Instead to Use As Basis for Claim

By Steven J. Pearlman and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in False Claims Act
In an unusual and eye-catching case, a hospital facing a whistleblower lawsuit from a former senior executive under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) has brought suit against that individual, alleging he breached his fiduciary duty by failing to report the unlawful conduct internally and instead using that information as the basis for a whistleblower claim.  … Continue Reading

Alabama Federal Court Denies Motion for Summary Judgement on SOX Whistleblower Claim

By Steven J. Pearlman, Pinchos Goldberg and Samantha Shear on Posted in SOX Whistleblower Decisions
On April 2, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama denied a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, finding genuine issues of material fact existed as to the basis for Plaintiff’s discharge, whether his complaint qualified as protected activity, and whether he had a reasonable belief … Continue Reading

The European Parliament Approves EU-Wide Standard for Whistleblower Protection

By Erika C. Collins, Daniel Ornstein, Lloyd B. Chinn, Pinchos Goldberg and Vanessa P. Avello on Posted in Legislation
Per our previous post, the European Parliament and the Member States agreed to adopt new rules that would set the standard for protecting whistleblowers across the EU from dismissal, demotion, and other forms of retaliation when they report breaches of various areas of EU law. According to a press release issued by the European Parliament on … Continue Reading

SEC Awards $50 Million to Two Whistleblowers

By Lloyd B. Chinn and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in SEC
On March 26, 2019, the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower announced two multi-million dollar awards to whistleblowers who provided the SEC with information that assisted the agency in bringing a successful enforcement action.  The larger of the two awards, $37 million, is the SEC’s third-highest award to date, after a $50 million award in March … Continue Reading

LA Jury Awards Whistleblower $1.5 Million

By Steven J. Pearlman, Kate Gold and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in False Claims Act, Verdicts
On February 28, 2019, a Los Angeles jury issued a verdict of $1.5 million in damages to a former employee who alleged his employer retaliated against him for reporting misconduct in violation of the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h), the Defense Contractor Whistleblower Protection Act (“DCWPA”), 10 U.S.C. § 2409, and California’s … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Affirms Most of Jury Verdict in Former GC’s SOX Whistleblower Lawsuit

By Steven J. Pearlman, Lloyd B. Chinn and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, SOX Whistleblower Decisions
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

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
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

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
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

S.D.N.Y. Dismisses Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Retaliation Claim

By Steven J. Pearlman, Harris Mufson and Pinchos Goldberg on Posted in Dodd Frank
In one of the first cases to address the standard governing a motion for summary judgment in a Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation case, Judge Jed S. Rakoff ruled that two former executives of Vista Outdoor Inc. (the Company) had failed to show that their terminations were causally connected to vague complaints about internal Company controls.  Vista … Continue Reading
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