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...

Second Circuit’s Burden of Proof Ruling in SOX Whistleblower Case Creates Circuit Split

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently overturned a jury’s award of $900,000 to a former employee who claimed, in a case brought under the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), that he was unlawfully retaliated against for blowing the whistle on his former employer’s alleged securities violations. According to the appeals court, the trial judge gave the jury...