On November 28, 2022, the SEC announced an award of $20 million to a whistleblower who provided new and critical information that contributed to a successful enforcement action. (The order granting the award can be accessed here.) The SEC noted that in determining the appropriate award amount, it considered
Ninth Circuit Takes Broad View of Protected Activity under the California Whistleblower Protection Act
On October 20, 2022, the Ninth Circuit reversed in part a grant of summary judgment in favor of an employer, finding that the district court misapplied the substantive law of California in holding that Plaintiff’s disclosures to his supervisor and to a third-party contractor did not constitute protected activity under…
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…
Tenth Circuit Affirms $1 Million Jury Award to Whistleblower
On July 20, 2022, the Tenth Circuit affirmed a $1 million jury award to a former employee who claimed he was demoted in retaliation for reporting that his supervisor instructed him to falsify test results on a program used by the U.S. military. Casias v. Raytheon Co., Nos. 21-1195…
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…
SEC Adopts Amendments to Whistleblower Program Rules
By Steven J. Pearlman & Pinchos Goldberg on
On August 26, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had adopted two amendments to its whistleblower program rules proposed earlier this year (see our post here).
The first amendment allows whistleblowers who would have been eligible for an award under another whistleblower program that would…
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…
SEC Announces $17 Million Award to Whistleblower
By Steven J. Pearlman & Pinchos Goldberg on
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. …
Florida District Court Limits Scope of Protected Activity under the FCA
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Pinchos Goldberg & Dixie Morrison on
On March 29, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida held that in order to engage in protected conduct under the False Claims Act (“FCA”), a plaintiff must specifically suspect that their employer has made a false claim for payment to the federal government; vague suspicions…