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What is workplace sexual harassment?

It is illegal to harass an employee because of that person’s sex.  According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), this unlawful sexual harassment includes … Continued

What is Pregnancy Discrimination?

Pregnancy Discrimination Act Lawyers

Pregnancy discrimination is a type of sex discrimination and often involves an employer treating an employee differently because of issues concerning pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions.

Under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers with at least 15 employees may not make job decisions based on certain protected characteristics, including sex. Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) in 1978 as an amendment to Title VII, to clarify that firing, demoting, or otherwise penalizing employees because they are pregnant is a form of illegal sex discrimination.

In some circumstances, an employer might be obligated to provide time off to employees who are temporarily unable to work due to pregnancy and childbirth or to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees to enable them to perform their job duties.

U.S. News and Best Lawyers® have named Zuckerman Law a Tier 1 firm in Litigation – Labor and Employment in the Washington DC metropolitan area.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you. To schedule a preliminary consultation about pregnancy discrimination, click here.

See Eric Bachman’s Forbes.com column and his articles on pregnancy discrimination:

• Which Employment Laws/Policies Actually Help Pregnant Workers?
• What Happens if the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Becomes Law?
• Why Women Lawyers At Big Law Firms Are Walking Out The Door
• Key Takeaways From The Proposed $14 Million Walmart Pregnancy Discrimination Settlement
• A $5M Settlement, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Max Scherzer, And The Importance Of Parental Leave Rights
• $3.5 Million Settlement Sheds Light On When Pregnancy May Be A Disability Under The Law

Proving Pregnancy Discrimination

Pregnancy discrimination can occur at various times during employment.  For example,  employers are prohibited from factoring in an employee’s pregnancy into employment decisions when considering:

• Recruitment,
• Termination,
• Promotion,
• Demotion,
• fringe benefits like healthcare and leave

For additional information, click here.

To win a pregnancy discrimination case you must show:

• that you were treated differently than other employees who were similarly situated; and
• that the difference in treatment was based on your pregnancy.

FAQs About Pregnancy Discrimination

• What Is Pregnancy Discrimination?
• Do I need to file an EEOC charge of discrimination and what is the deadline?
• How do I prove I was treated differently than a similarly situated (not pregnant) employee?
• Can I be awarded emotional distress damages and how do I prove them?
• What are back pay damages?
• Can Pregnancy Ever Be Considered A Disability Under the Americans With Disabilities Act?

Pregnancy Discrimination and Virginia Human Rights Act

The Virginia Human Rights Act prohibits employment practices that discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, childbirth or related medical conditions. Virginia law does not specifically require employers to offer pregnancy leave. However, employers covered by the Virginia Human Rights Act must provide the same leave benefits to women disabled by pregnancy that they provide to other employees with temporary disabilities.

This means that employers can provide leave for employees with temporary disabilities, including pregnancy disability, with or without pay, or not provide it at all, so long as all employees are treated the same in their requests for temporary disability leave.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act and Related Anti-Discrimination Laws

Various federal and state laws, including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, generally dictate that an employer may not treat pregnant employees differently than employees with other medical conditions. And employers are usually required to hold open a job with the same reinstatement rights during pregnancy-related absences as it would for employees on sick or other types of leave.

Likewise, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for an employer to take an action against an employee (for example, denying them a promotion) that is based on their pregnancy.  More information is available here.

Whistleblower Lawyer Hammer Quoted by Bloomberg About Rebound in Sarbanes Oxley Whistleblower Retaliation Claims

Whistleblower lawyer Dallas Hammer is quoted extensively in a Bloomberg BNA article titled Dodd-Frank Overhaul Could Spark Rebound in SOX Whistle-Blower Cases.  Hammer provided Bloomberg with … Continued

Are cybersecurity whistleblowers protected against retaliation?

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) will often protect cybersecurity professionals who work directly for public corporations or those corporations’ service providers. Yet further, the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 (DFA) could allow information security workers to receive a whistleblower reward for reporting cybersecurity concerns to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), in some cases.

SEC Whistleblower Law Firm’s FAQs About SEC Whistleblower Program

Based on our experience successfully representing SEC whistleblowers, this FAQ provides an overview of key aspects of the SEC Whistleblower Program.  Every case is unique.  Contact us today to consult with our effective SEC whistleblower lawyers to find out if you may qualify for an SEC whistleblower award.

1. What is the SEC Whistleblower Program?
2. What are the largest SEC whistleblower awards?
3. What violations qualify for an SEC whistleblower award?
4. Can Zuckerman Law represent me if I do not live in the state/country where the law firm has an office? 
5. Why should I choose the Zuckerman Law to represent me in my SEC whistleblower claim?
6. Can I submit an anonymous tip to the SEC Whistleblower Office?
7. When is the best time to report the fraud or misconduct to the SEC?
8. Can I submit an SEC Whistleblower claim if the SEC already has an open investigation into the matter?
9. Who is an “eligible” SEC whistleblower?
10. Can compliance personnel, auditors, officers or directors qualify for an SEC whistleblower award?
11. What is “original information”?
12. How might my information “lead to” a successful SEC enforcement action?
13. Can I submit a claim if I was involved in the fraud or misconduct?
14. Do I have to report a securities law violations to my company before reporting the violation to the SEC?
15. Can I submit a tip if I agreed to a confidentiality provision in an employment/severance agreement?
16. What factors does the SEC consider when determining the amount of the award?
17. What employment protections are available for SEC whistleblowers?
18. What type of evidence should I submit to the SEC?
19. What happens after I submit a tip to the SEC?
20. How long does it take to receive an award?

Experienced SEC Whistleblower Attorneys

The experienced whistleblower lawyers at Zuckerman Law represent whistleblowers worldwide before the SEC under the Dodd-Frank SEC Whistleblower Program.  The firm has a licensed Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner on staff to enhance its ability to investigate and disclose complex financial fraud to the SEC, and two of the firm’s attorneys served on the Department of Labor’s Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee and in senior leadership positions at a government agency that protects whistleblowers.

If you have original information that you would like to report to the SEC Whistleblower Office, contact the Director of our SEC whistleblower practice at [email protected] or call our leading SEC whistleblower lawyers at (202) 930-5901 or (202) 262-8959. All inquiries are confidential. The law firm’s SEC whistleblower attorneys will work to quickly provide SEC whistleblowers with the highest-quality representation. In conjunction with our courageous clients, we have helped the SEC halt multi-million dollar investment schemes, expose violations at large publicly traded companies, and return funds to defrauded investors.

Firm Principal Jason Zuckerman has been named by Washingtonian Magazine as a “Top Whistleblower Lawyer” and the firm has been ranked by U.S. News as a Tier 1 Firm in Labor & Employment Litigation.

Leading whistleblower law firm Zuckerman Law has substantial experience investigating securities fraud schemes and preparing effective submissions to the SEC concerning a wide range of federal securities violations, including:

• Accounting fraud;
• Investment and securities fraud;
• EB-5 investment fraud;
• Manipulation of a security’s price or volume;
• Fraudulent securities offerings and Ponzi schemes;
• Unregistered securities offerings;
• Investment adviser fraud;
• False or misleading statements about a company or investment;
• Inadequate internal controls; and
• Violations of auditor independence rules.

SEC Whistleblower Rewards and Bounties

Qualifying for an SEC Whistleblower Award

For more information about the SEC Whistleblower Program, download our free ebook SEC Whistleblower Program: Tips from SEC Whistleblower Attorneys to Maximize an SEC Whistleblower Award and see the following resources:

• Tips for SEC Whistleblowers
• Leading SEC Whistleblower Law Firm Featured in Article About Growing Wave of Whistleblower Lawsuits
• SEC Whistleblower Reward Program FAQ
• Auditors’ and accountants’ guide to SEC whistleblower awards
• Whistleblower Protections and Incentives for Auditors and Accountants
• How to Report EB-5 Fraud and Earn an SEC Whistleblower Award
• CFTC Strengthens Anti-Retaliation Protections for Whistleblowers and Improves CFTC Whistleblower Award Program
• SEC Cracking Down on Ponzi Schemes
• SEC Scrutinizes “Fake News” Stock Promotion Schemes
• SEC Whistleblower Program: Exposing Insider Trading
• SEC Awards for Disclosures of Foreign Bribery or FCPA Violations
• Whistleblower Rewards and Bounties for Disclosures of Market Manipulation Schemes
• SEC Targeting Investment Adviser Fraud
• Compliance Personnel, Auditors, Officers and Directors Can Obtain SEC Whistleblower Awards
• Money Laundering and the SEC Whistleblower Program
• International Whistleblower Representation – SEC Whistleblower Attorney
• Anonymous Whistleblowing: Does the SEC Whistleblower Program Protect a Whistleblower’s Identity?
• SEC Awards for Disclosures of Foreign Bribery or FCPA Violations
• Securities Fraud Enforcement Action Prompts the Question: What Was the Company Smoking?
• Compliance Officer Whistleblower Representation
• SEC Whistleblower Program: What is the SEC Form TCR?
• Tale of Two Whistleblowers: Lessons Learned from Today’s SEC Whistleblower Award
• Whistleblowers Help CFTC Obtain Record Penalties for Commodities Fraud
• Report Underscores Importance of Whistleblower Rewards and Protections for Internal Auditors
• SEC Sanctions: Whistleblower Reference Guide
• Protections and Rewards for Cybersecurity Whistleblowers
• CFTC Announces Second Whistleblower Award in 2016 as the Agency’s Whistleblower Reward Program Picks Up Steam
• EB-5 Visa Scandal Underscores the Critical Role Whistleblowers Play in Exposing EB-5 Fraud
• SEC Enforcement Director Touts Success of SEC Whistleblower Program
• SEC Whistleblower Program Not Limited to Corporate Insiders
• SEC Pays $3M Award to Whistleblower
• SEC Draft Strategic Plan Affirms the Importance of the SEC’s Whistleblower Reward Program
• Whistleblower Lawyer Interviewed About SEC Whistleblower Award
• Wall Street Journal Quotes Jason Zuckerman on Dodd-Frank SEC Regulations
• SEC Whistleblower Lawyer Quoted in National Law Journal About SEC Whistleblower Program
• SEC Whistleblower Lawyer Zuckerman Quoted About SEC Whistleblower Award for Independent Analysis
• SEC Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Zuckerman Quoted About Tips for SEC Whistleblowers
• Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Zuckerman Quoted About SEC Whistleblower Award
• Whistleblower Lawyer Interviewed About the Rise of Cybersecurity Whistleblowing
• Whistleblower Attorney Zuckerman Quoted in Washington Post About SEC Order
• Whistleblower Attorney Dallas Hammer Interviewed by Bloomberg About Dodd-Frank Protected Whistleblowing
• SEC Whistleblower Lawyer Zuckerman Quoted About SEC Whistleblower Award for Independent Analysis
• Audit committees need to dig into personal relationships
• Whistleblower Bounties Pose Challenges
• CFO Magazine Quotes Whistleblower Attorney Jason Zuckerman About Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Rules
• Fiscal Times Quotes Jason Zuckerman About Dodd-Frank Act Whistleblower Reward Provisions
• Whistleblower Attorney Jason Zuckerman Quoted About Battle Over Corporate Whistleblower Rules

Whistleblower Awards for Exposing Fraud at Hedge Funds

Under the SEC Whistleblower Program, whistleblowers are eligible for monetary awards when they provide the SEC with original information about violations of federal securities laws, including hedge fund fraud. Whistleblowers can receive between 10% and 30% of the monetary sanctions collected if their tip leads to a successful enforcement action resulting in monetary sanctions exceeding $1 million. A whistleblower can submit a tip anonymously to the SEC if represented by counsel.

Since 2012, the SEC Whistleblower Office has issued nearly $1.3 billion in awards to whistleblowers. The largest SEC whistleblower awards to date are $114 million and $50 million.  Our firm has secured multi-million dollar awards for SEC whistleblowers.

While hedge funds are not required to abide by all of the strict regulations that apply to mutual funds, hedge funds are still subject to the same prohibitions against fraud as are other market participants.

If you have information that may qualify for an SEC whistleblower award, contact the Director of our SEC whistleblower practice at [email protected] or call our leading SEC whistleblower lawyers at (202) 930-5901 or (202) 262-8959. All inquiries are confidential.

In conjunction with our courageous clients, we have helped the SEC halt multi-million dollar investment schemes, expose violations at large publicly traded companies and return funds to defrauded investors. Read our tips for SEC whistleblowers and Forbes column about the success of the SEC whistleblower program. Click below to hear SEC whistleblower lawyer Matt Stock’s tips for SEC whistleblowers:

Recently the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners published a profile of Matt Stock’s success working with whistleblowers to fight fraud:

Contact us today to find out the strategies that we have successfully employed to secure SEC whistleblower awards for our whistleblower clients.

Hedge Funds

Like mutual funds, hedge funds pool investors’ money and invest the money. Hedge funds, however, are not subject to some of the regulations that apply to mutual funds that are designed to protect investors. As such, hedge funds lend themselves to more flexible and risky investment strategies (not often used by mutual funds), such as using leverage, short-selling, derivatives, and other speculative investments.

Moreover, certain federal and state laws that apply to mutual funds do not apply to hedge funds. For example, the SEC notes that “hedge funds are not required to provide the same level of disclosure as you would receive from mutual funds. Without the disclosures that the securities laws require for most mutual funds, it can be more difficult to fully evaluate the terms of an investment in a hedge fund. It may also be difficult to verify representations you receive from a hedge fund.”

As noted by SEC Chair Gensler in a recent speech, U.S. private funds are growing in size and complexity and represent a critical portion of U.S. capital markets.  They have gross assets under management of $17 trillion with net assets of $11.5 trillion. Hedge funds have gross assets of at least $8.8 trillion and net assets valued at about $4.7 trillion.

Examples of Hedge Fund Violations

Notable areas of hedge fund fraud that may qualify for an SEC whistleblower award include:

• Material Misrepresentations to Investors;
• Misappropriation of Investor Funds/Ponzi Schemes;
• Insider Trading; and
• Inaccurate disclosures in Form PF.

See below for examples of SEC enforcement actions brought against hedge funds for these violations.

SEC Actions Combatting Hedge Fund Fraud

Material Misrepresentations to Investors

Generally, hedge funds do not calculate performance in the same manner as mutual funds because hedge funds can invest in securities that are relatively hard to value. In contrast, federal securities laws heavily dictate mutual funds by requiring specific methods on how to advertise their performance data and disclosures. Because of the difference in calculating performance, the SEC has closely monitored hedge fund practices for fraudulent performance.

•  SEC v. Beacon Hill Asset Management Company: The SEC charged hedge fund Beacon Hill and its four principals for implementing a fraudulent scheme that resulted in investors losing more than $300 million. According to the SEC’s complaint, the hedge fund’s principals made several material misrepresentations to investors, including: (1) the methodology it used for calculating the net asset values of the hedge funds it managed; (2) its hedging and trading strategy; and (3) how it valued the performance of the funds. In addition, the SEC alleged the hedge fund manipulated its valuation procedures to show steady and positive returns.

•  SEC v. Charles L. Harris, Tradewinds International L.L.C. and Tradewinds international II L.P.: The SEC charged hedge fund Tradewinds International with fraudulently raising $10 million from at least 30 investors by misrepresenting the fund’s past rates of return, net asset value and the use of investor funds. According to the SEC’s complaint, the hedge fund manager, Charles L. Harris, told investors that Tradewinds’ net asset value was between $18 and $23 million, when in reality it was approximately $30,000. Harris was sentenced to 168 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution of $13.8 million.

•  In the Matter of Global Infrastructure Management, LLC  On December 20, 2021, the SEC charged Global Infrastructure Management, LLC for failing to properly offset management fees and for making misleading statements about the fees and expenses it charged. Global agreed to pay a $4.5 million penalty to settle the SEC charges and repaid $5.4 million to its affected private fund clients. 

•  SEC Investigates Statim Holdings Inc.: The SEC is currently investigating Statim Holdings Inc., an Atlanta-based firm that has allegedly guaranteed positive returns to investors in its main hedge fund. Note: To date, the firm has not been accused of any wrongdoing and an investigation doesn’t mean they will face legal action.

Misappropriation of Funds and Ponzi Schemes

Section 206 of the Investment Adviser Act of 1940 (IAA) prohibits fraudulent and deceptive conduct. Misappropriation is the intentional and illegal use of property, or funds of another person for their own use, or other unauthorized purpose. In addition, the SEC defines a Ponzi scheme is “an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors.” Ponzi scheme organizers often solicit new investors by promising to invest funds in opportunities claimed to generate high returns with little or no risk.

•  SEC v. Yasuna Murakami. MC2 Capital Management, LLC: On May 22, 2017, the SEC charged a Massachusetts-based hedge fund manager, Yasuna Murakami,  with making “Ponzi-like payments and taking investor funds to pay for personal travel, meals, and credit card bills.” According to the SEC’s complaint, Murakami misappropriated more than $8 million for business and personal expenses and made approximately $1.3 million in Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors as purported investment gains. The enforcement action led to at least $10 million in monetary sanctions.

Insider Trading

Hedge funds are liable for insider trading violations when they buy or sell a security in breach of a fiduciary duty or other relationship of trust and confidence, while in possession of material, nonpublic information about the security.

•  SEC v. S.A.C. Capital Advisors: In March 2013, hedge fund advisory firm CR Intrinsic Investors – an affiliate of S.A.C. Capital – agreed to pay more than $600 million for allegedly participating in an insider trading scheme involving a clinical trial for an Alzheimer’s drug being developed by a pharmaceutical company. According to the SEC’s complaint, two of the firm’s portfolio managers, Mathew Martoma and Michael Steinberg, illegally obtained confidential information about the clinical trial’s negative results about two weeks before they were made public. The portfolio managers then tipped off several hedge funds about the negative results. In a little more than a week, several hedge funds sold nearly $1 billion of the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

The hedge funds earned profits and avoided losses of more than $275 million as a result of the illegal trades. Martoma was rewarded with a $9 million bonus for his work.

Protections for Hedge Fund SEC Whistleblowers

The SEC Whistleblower Program also protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose information that might directly or indirectly reveal a whistleblower’s identity.  Furthermore, the Dodd-Frank Act protects whistleblowers from retaliation by their employers for reporting violations of securities laws to the SEC.

Whistleblowers may file a tip with the SEC anonymously if they are represented by an attorney.

The anti-retaliation provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provides robust protection for corporate whistleblowers.  To learn more about corporate whistleblower rights, download our guide Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Protection: Robust Protection for Corporate Whistleblowers.

Protections for Hedge Fund Whistleblowers

Click here to learn more about anti-retaliation protections for SEC whistleblowers under the Dodd-Frank Act and Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Experienced SEC Whistleblower Attorneys

To learn more about the SEC Whistleblower Program, download Zuckerman Law’s eBook: SEC Whistleblower Program: Tips from SEC Whistleblower Attorneys to Maximize an SEC Whistleblower Award:

For more information about whistleblower rewards and bounties, contact the SEC whistleblower lawyers at Zuckerman Law for a free, confidential consultation at 202-262-8959.

See our column in Forbes:  One Billion Reasons Why The SEC Whistleblower-Reward Program Is Effective

See our column in Going Concern:  Sarbanes-Oxley 15 Years Later: Accountants Need to Speak Up Now More Than Ever

U.S. News and Best Lawyers® have named Zuckerman Law a Tier 1 firm in Litigation – Labor and Employment in the Washington DC metropolitan area in the 2018 edition “Best Law Firms.”  In 2017, Washingtonian magazine named two of our attorneys top whistleblower lawyers.

Process to Qualify for SEC Whistleblower Award

Hedge Fund Whistleblower Protection Against Retaliation

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