DOL Adopts Strengthened Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Regulations

Regulations Implementing Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Protection Law

OSHA has adopted Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower regulations implementing the Dodd-Frank Act amendments to the Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower law. The regulations also clarify and improve OSHA’s procedures for handling Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower claims, as well as to set forth OSHA’s interpretations of SOX.   Some of the significant enhancements include the following:

• SOX complaints need not be in any particular form. They may be either oral or in writing. And when a complaint is made orally, OSHA will reduce the complaint to writing.
• Consistent with the ARB’s decisions in Sylvester Parexel Int’l LLC, ARB No. 07–123, (ARB May 25, 2011), the federal court pleading standards established in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) do not apply to Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower complaints filed with OSHA.
• The final rule clarifies that a SOX whistleblower “need not show that the conduct complained of constituted an actual violation of law. Pursuant to this standard, an employee’s whistleblower activity is protected where it is based on a reasonable, but mistaken, belief that a violation of the relevant law has occurred or is likely to occur.”
• OSHA notes that its current policy is to request that each party provide the other parties with a copy of all submissions to OSHA that are responsive to the whistleblower complaint. Where the parties do not so provide, OSHA will ensure that each party is provided with such information, redacted as appropriate. OSHA will also ensure that each party is provided with an opportunity to respond to the other party’s submissions.
• A SOX whistleblower who is reinstated pursuant to an OSHA order of preliminary reinstatement but is subsequently unsuccessful at a hearing on the merits is not required to reimburse the employer for wages earned during the period of reinstatement: “Congress intended that employees be preliminarily reinstated to their positions if OSHA finds reasonable cause to believe that they were discharged in violation of Sarbanes-Oxley. However, the statutory procedural scheme does not allow for reimbursement to the employer if actual preliminary reinstatement was ordered and yet the employer ultimately prevailed. Thus, there is no statutory basis to reimburse an employer in that instance.”

These regulations will help ensure that SOX continues to offer robust protection for whistleblowers. If you are seeking representation in a Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower case, click here, or call us at 202-262-8959 to schedule a free preliminary consultation.

Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower regulations

SOX Whistleblower Lawyer’s Guide to Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Retaliation Law

The whistleblower protection provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provides robust protection to corporate whistleblowers, and indeed some SOX whistleblowers have achieved substantial recoveries.  For example, a former in-house counsel at a biotechnology company recovered $11 million in a SOX whistleblower retaliation case alleging that the company fired him for disclosing violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

On the fifteenth anniversary of SOX, leading whistleblower law firm Zuckerman Law released a free guide to the SOX whistleblower protection law: Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Protection: Robust Protection for Corporate Whistleblowers.  The guide summarizes SOX whistleblower protections and offers concrete tips for corporate whistleblowers based on lessons learned during years of litigating SOX whistleblower cases.

The guide provides an overview of the key elements of a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, and the procedures governing the investigation and adjudication of SOX claims.

 

Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Attorneys

The SOX whistleblower lawyers at Zuckerman Law have substantial experience litigating Sarbanes Oxley whistleblower retaliation claims and have achieved substantial recoveries for officers, executives, accountants, auditors, and other senior professionals.  Click here to read client testimonials about the firm’s work in SOX whistleblower matters and other employment-related litigation.

If you have suffered retaliation for whistleblowing, contact us at 202-262-8959 to schedule a free preliminary consultation.

To stay abreast of new developments under SOX and other whistleblower protection laws, subscribe to our Whistleblower Protection Law Blog.

• 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.
• See our post in Accounting Today: Whistleblower Protections and Incentives for Auditors and Accountants.
• See our post in The Compliance and Ethics Blog: Shkreli Trial Reveals the Challenges Faced by Compliance Whistleblowers.

Leading SOX whistleblower law firm Zuckerman Law writes extensively about whistleblower protections and is quoted frequently in the media on this topic. Below is a sample of those blog posts and articles:

• Sarbanes Oxley Whistleblower Win Shows Strong Need For Whistleblower Protections
• DOL Adopts Strengthened Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Regulations
• Jury Awards Former Bio-Rad Counsel $11M in Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Case
• Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Decision Clarifies Broad Scope of Protected Whistleblowing
• Decision Denying Motion for Summary Judgment Broadly Construes Sarbanes-Oxley Protected Whistleblowing
• Sarbanes-Oxley Protects Disclosures About Inadequate Information Security Controls
• Jury Awards Six Million Dollars to Whistleblower in Sarbanes-Oxley Case
• Sarbanes-Oxley Authorizes Damages for Reputational Harm
• OSHA Orders Bank to Reinstate Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower
• Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Prevails on Appeal
• Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Obtains $2.7M in Front Pay
• SOX Whistleblower Decision Adopts Favorable Pleading Standard for Whistleblowers
• OSHA Orders Wells Fargo to Pay $5.4M to Whistleblower
• District Court Rejects Materiality Requirement for Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Actions
• Whistleblowing Fraud Investigator Defeats Motion to Dismiss Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Case
• Third Circuit Decision Highlights Key Procedural Distinctions Between Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protection Provisions
• Federal Courts Are Adopting the Administrative Review Board’s Broad Interpretation of Sarbanes-Oxley Protected Conduct
• Are cybersecurity whistleblowers protected against retaliation?
• Court Rules that Whistleblowers Can Use Confidential Company Documents to Expose Fraud
• Fifth Circuit Holds that “Outing” a Whistleblower is an Adverse Action Under SOX
• Court Rules for In-House Counsel Whistleblower
• Leading SEC Whistleblower Law Firm Featured in Article About Growing Wave of Whistleblower Lawsuits
• Pro Se Sarbanes Oxley Whistleblower Prevails in Jury Trial
• Whistleblower Lawyer Interviewed About Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protection Provision
• A Wells Fargo whistleblower warned about fake accounts in 2011 — nobody from the government ever spoke with her
• Whistleblower Lawyer Dallas Hammer Quoted About Cybersecurity Whistleblowing
• Tax Notes Quotes Whistleblower Lawyer Zuckerman About SOX Whistleblower Case
• Article Reports on Petition to Strengthen Whistleblower Rights
• Whistleblower Lawyer Zuckerman Quoted About OSHA Whistleblower Investigations
• Whistleblower Lawyer Quoted About Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Development
• Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Zuckerman Quoted About Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Protection
• Forbes Quotes Whistleblower Attorney Jason Zuckerman About Self-Help Discovery in Whistleblower Litigation
• Federal Courts Are Adopting the Administrative Review Board’s Broad Interpretation of Sarbanes-Oxley Protected Conduct
• DOL Clarifies Burden-Shifting Framework For Whistleblowers, Law 360 (October 2016)
• The Evolution Of SOX: A Powerful Remedy For Retaliation, Law 360 (May 2016)
• Whistleblower Protections and Incentives for Auditors and Accountants, Accounting Today (May 2016)
• 2016 Annual Update on the Whistleblower Provisions of SOX, American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law Subcommittee on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (February 2016)
• Sixth Circuit Hands A Landmark Victory To SOX Whistleblowers, Law 360 (June 2015)
• A Year For Whistleblower Rewards And Protections, Law 360 (December 2014)
• Congress Strengthens Whistleblower Protections for Federal Employees, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law (December 2012)
• Whistleblowers: What Protections And Forms of Relief Are Available For Foreign-Based Employees, ABA Section Of International Law Spring 2011 Meeting (March 2011)
• Law 360 Quotes Whistleblower Attorney Jason Zuckerman About Fifth Circuit Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Decision
• Law 360 Quotes Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Zuckerman on Seminal Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Decision
• Whistleblower Attorney Zuckerman Quoted in Article About Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Protection Decisions
• Law 360 Quotes Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Zuckerman on Seminal Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Decision
• Law360 Quotes Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Zuckerman About Sarbanes-Oxley Causation Standard
• Whistleblower Attorney Jason Zuckerman Quoted in Law360 Article About Whistleblower Self-Help Discovery
• Whistleblower Advocate Jason Zuckerman Quoted in Article About In-House Attorney Whistleblower Lawsuits
• Whistleblower Lawyer Hammer Quoted by Bloomberg About Rebound in Sarbanes Oxley Whistleblower Retaliation Claims
• Whistleblower Lawyer Quoted About Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Development
• Whistleblower Lawyer Interviewed About the Rise of Cybersecurity Whistleblowing