As we previously reported, on February 13, 2020, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of the Department of Labor (DOL) dismissed a former in-house attorney’s whistleblower claims because he worked entirely outside of the United States. On December 23, 2022, the D.C. Circuit unanimously affirmed, holding that SOX’s anti-retaliation provision
SOX Whistleblower Decisions
Pennsylvania District Court Grants Employer Summary Judgment on Whistleblower Retaliation Claims
On December 6, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on whistleblower retaliation claims brought under SOX and the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (“CFPA”). It held that the plaintiff could not prove that her alleged complaints of…
OSHA Orders Company to Reinstate Whistleblowers and Orders Payment of Over $800k for Purported SOX Violations
On October 7, 2022, OSHA announced that it had ordered ExxonMobil Corp. to immediately rehire two computational scientists who alleged that they were fired in retaliation for leaking to the media their concerns about improper conduct by the company. In addition to reinstatement, the former employees were also awarded over…
Second Circuit: SOX Whistleblower Claims Require Retaliatory Intent
By Pinchos Goldberg & Alisha Bruce on
On August 5, 2022, the Second Circuit overturned a nearly $1 million jury award granted to a former employee of UBS Securities LLC (“UBS”). The Court held that the judge’s instruction to the jury—that Plaintiff was “not required to prove that his protected activity was the primary motivating factor in…
First Circuit: FCPA is not a “Rule or Regulation of the SEC” Under SOX Whistleblower Provision
On July 13, 2022, the First Circuit reversed a denial of summary judgment, finding plaintiff could not satisfy his burden of showing he engaged in protected activity under the SOX whistleblower protection provision. Baker v. Smith & Wesson, No. 21-2019 (1st Cir. 2022). The decision affirms that protected activity…
CA District Court: SOX and Dodd-Frank’s Whistleblower Provisions Do Not Apply To Individual Employed Abroad
On June 7, 2022, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, relying on recent ARB decisions, held that a plaintiff who lived and worked for a Canadian subsidiary of a US company could not avail himself to the anti-retaliation provisions of SOX and the Dodd-Frank Act. …
D.C. Circuit: No Award to Whistleblower Who Made Disclosure Before Enactment of SEC’s Whistleblower Program
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Pinchos Goldberg & Dixie Morrison on
On May 27, 2022, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an order by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) denying a whistleblower award under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”), holding that information provided to the SEC prior to Dodd-Frank’s enactment did not qualify for…
CA Federal Court Dismisses Whistleblower Claims After Bench Trial
On July 26, 2021, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held, after a bench trial, that Plaintiff Botta failed to prove that Defendant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) terminated his employment in retaliation for his filing of a complaint with the SEC, and dismissed his whistleblower claims…
M.D. Pennsylvania Grants Summary Judgment on SOX Retaliation Claim
On April 12, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that the company demonstrated that it would have terminated Plaintiff’s employment even in the absence of any alleged protected activity as part…
Pennsylvania District Court Grants Employer Summary Judgment on SOX Claim
On March 29, 2021, 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 lacked an objectively or subjectively reasonable belief that the company violated any law enumerated in Section 806 of SOX. …