January 13, 2025
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Category: Agency Enforcement

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Finalizes New Bounty Hunter Program

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has published a final rule implementing its bounty hunter program. The rule provides that NHTSA may pay a monetary award to a whistleblower who provides original information that leads to the successful resolution of an enforcement action for violations of laws related to the manufacture or sale of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment. The...
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August 13, 2024
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Category: Retalliation

DOJ Launches New Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has rolled out a pilot program that provides cash bounties to corporate whistleblowers who are not otherwise eligible for cash awards under existing federal whistleblower laws. DOJ officially launched the program, dubbed the Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program, on August 1, 2024. It is scheduled to run for three years. Under the program, individuals reporting...
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July 30, 2024
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Category: Regulatory Guidance/Interpretation

New Guidance From CFPB Asserts Confidentiality Agreements Can Violate Whistleblower Laws

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued guidance stating that broadly-worded confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) may violate federal whistleblower laws by unlawfully deterring employees from exercising their whistleblower rights. Employers that require employees and former employees to sign broad confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements in return for a separation agreement or continued employment risk being found in violation of...
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June 17, 2024
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Category: Legislation

Congress Adds Whistleblower Protection Penalties for Aviation-Safety-Related Complaints

Congress has added substantial monetary penalties as a remedy for whistleblower retaliation related to aviation safety violations. The penalties appear in the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR21), which protects employees, contractors, and subcontractors of air carriers from retaliation for reporting aviation safety violations. The legislation, which Congress approved in May 2024 to reauthorize the...
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March 18, 2024
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Category: Agency Enforcement

DOJ Announces New “Bounty Hunter” Pilot Program for Corporate Whistleblowers

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will launch a pilot program later this year that will award monetary bounties to corporate whistleblowers that are not otherwise eligible for cash rewards under federal law. The focus will be on encouraging whistleblowing related to allegations of foreign corruption. DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) will spearhead the pilot program. Acting...
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March 04, 2024
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Whistleblower Activity Under Federal Laws Increased in FY 2023

Federal agencies that enforce whistleblower laws report an across-the-board increase in tips and complaints alleging unlawful activity by employers, as well as an increase in complaints alleging unlawful retaliation against whistleblowing employees, fiscal year 2023 statistics show. The four government agencies are the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and...
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February 21, 2024
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Category: Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules SOX Does Not Require Whistleblower To Show “Retaliatory Intent”

A whistleblower claiming unlawful retaliation under the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act does not need to show that the employer acted with retaliatory intent to establish a valid claim, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled February 8, 2024. Instead, a plaintiff need show only that the protected activity was a contributing factor to the adverse action. The burden then shifts back to the...
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September 20, 2023
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Category: Agency Enforcement

SEC Cease and Desist Order Dings Employer for Trying To Limit Dodd-Frank Bounty Hunter Award

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fined privately held energy company Monolith Resources $225,000 for using a severance agreement that allegedly deprived departing employees of the ability to qualify for whistleblower awards under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. Monolith has agreed to the SEC’s September 8 cease and desist order and has modified its separation agreement to exempt whistleblower...
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June 19, 2023
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Category: Government Contracts

Supreme Court Hones Standard for Establishing False Claims Act Liability

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a company can be liable under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) for making a false claim against the government if the company knew or should have known that the claim was false, even if the claim was objectively reasonable. The decision is United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc. (June 1,...
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November 11, 2022
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Category: Whistleblowing and Retaliation

Expanding Whistleblower Retaliation Protection for Federal Employees

Before adjourning for this week’s elections, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would significantly expand whistleblower retaliation protection for employees of the federal government. Although the bill was passed on a partisan vote and has no chance of becoming law this year, it contains several provisions that go beyond current anti-retaliation protections for private sector employees. Accordingly, we...
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