Jan 20
The Australian division of Transparency International recently released a report assessing the adequacy of the G20’s whistleblower laws, regulations, and protections. The assessment was done in preparation for this past November’s G20 Summit, hosted in Australia, during which corporate and public fraud were top agenda topics. These nefarious activities have a substantial negative impact on …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/01/the-alarming-results-of-the-first-independent-review-of-the-g20s-whistleblower-policies/
Dec 21
The efforts to encourage and protect whistleblowers have been wide-reaching. However there are differences between the rewards and the protections based on the agency and laws involved. A recent case entitled Gary Vander Boegh v. EnergySolutions, Inc. demonstrated that not all protections are equal. Mr. Vander Boegh had previously engaged in a range of protected …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/12/whistleblower-protection-has-limits/
Oct 13
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has announced that it will award over $30 million in its latest high profile payout to a whistleblower who provided key original information that led to a successful SEC enforcement action. The award is getting a lot of attention for a number of reasons. This $30 million amount is …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/10/whistleblower-program-to-pays-big-on-late-report-from-overseas/
Apr 09
Economic crime is increasingly plaguing U.S. firms according to a recent survey by PWC. Key findings include: “45% of organizations in the U.S. suffered from some type of fraud in the past two years, more than the global average of 37%. More than half of U.S. organizations that experienced fraud in the last two years reported an …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/04/fraud-on-the-rise/
Mar 17
The Supreme Court has held in the case of Lawson v. FMR LLC that the whistleblower protection available under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) properly extends to employees of privately held contractors and subcontractors who perform work for a public company. Although the case in question was brought by employees of advisors to a …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/03/sox-whistleblower-protection-extend-to-certain-private-company-employees/
Mar 03
The Securities Exchange Commission (“the Commission”) has filed an amicus brief clarifying that whistleblowing employees should be protected under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act even if their whistleblowing report was only internal. In its brief, the Commission stated that it “interpreted the anti-retaliation protections to extend to any individual ho engages …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/03/sec-defends-internal-company-whistleblowers/
Jan 17
The definition of a whistleblower and the criteria for reliance on associated protections has been the subject of a number of recent cases. In these matters, the reporting method has been the determining factor in whether and what protections are available. A case heard by the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals had provided an …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/01/when-is-a-whistleblower-not-a-whistleblower/
Jan 03
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s Whistleblower Protection Program is now accepting whistleblower complaints filed online. The online form can be completed electronically or downloaded and submitted by fax, mail or hand-delivery to a regional office. The form asks basic information of the employee, including: Contact information; Bargaining unit representative information; Employer and supervisor information; and …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/01/new-method-for-submitting-osha-whistleblower-complaints/
Dec 27
Employees have protection as whistleblowers from a wide variety of federal and state laws. Effective January 1, 2014, California added SB 486 to this list of legal protections. The new California law broadens an employee’s right to pursue legal action if retaliated against for reporting suspected wrongdoing. Perhaps most importantly, the law creates a civil …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/12/use-an-independent-service-to-help-protect-against-californias-new-10000-penalty-for-whistleblowers/
Nov 30
In a report required by Dodd-Frank, the Securities Exchange Commission issued its 2013 (fiscal year ended September 30) annual report. This is second full year report, thus allowing easy comparisons. A post on last year’s report appears here. The SEC continues to receive large numbers of complaints from a wide range of geographies and involving …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/11/most-sec-whistleblowers-are-waiting-probably-for-good-reason/
