As we have discussed in previous advisories, over the past two years the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of the Whistleblower has applied increased scrutiny to various forms of employment agreements that the SEC contends violate SEC Rule 21F-17, which prohibits taking “any action to impede an individual from communicating directly with the Commission staff about a possible securities law violation, including enforcing, or threatening to enforce, a confidentiality agreement.” This initiative has led to a number of SEC enforcement actions against employers, several of which have resulted in consent orders imposing fines and other penalties.