News & Analysis as of

Employment Contract Whistleblower Protection Policies

Perkins Coie

Whistleblower Protection Remains SEC Priority

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Last week, the SEC announced settled charges against seven public companies for use of agreements that the SEC alleges have provisions that violate the whistleblower protection rule. Coincidentally, I recently recorded a...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

SEC Announces Settlements with Seven Public Companies for Violations of Exchange Act Whistleblower Protections in Employee and...

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The SEC has begun to bring enforcement actions against companies whose employment and client agreements could appear to infringe on the right to report cases in violation of Section 21f-17(a) of the Exchange Act. On September...more

BCLP

SEC Again Cracks Down on Companies That Restrict Whistleblowers

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As discussed in our December 15, 2023 client alert, the SEC has waged an aggressive effort to enforce alleged violations of the whistleblower protection rule.  On September 9, 2024, the SEC announced settled charges resulting...more

Jenner & Block

Client Alert: Key Takeaways from the SEC’s Latest Enforcement Sweep Regarding Violations of the Whistleblower Protections Rule

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Earlier this week, the SEC announced an enforcement sweep charging seven public companies with violating the whistleblower protections rule in various employment-related agreements. These charges reflect the SEC’s continuing...more

Allen Matkins

Still More On Whether The SEC Exceeded Its Authority In Adopting Rule 21F-17

Allen Matkins on

Yesterday's post again discussed whether the Securities and Exchange Commission exceeded its authority in adopting Rule 21F-17(a), which provides...more

Woods Rogers

CFPB Warns Employee Confidentiality Agreements May Violate Whistleblower Protections

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued the Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-04 warning financial institutions that broad employee confidentiality agreements may violate the whistleblower...more

Troutman Pepper

Regulators Prowl for Financial Firms That Wield NDAs to ‘Muzzle’ Whistleblowers

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In a note to clients, the law firm Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders said that, while the legislation bars employers from taking actions that “discriminate against” whistleblowers, it’s a leap for the agency to interpret the...more

Ius Laboris

Whistleblower Confidentiality Unveiled

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Confidentiality clauses in employment contracts typically aim to protect an employer’s confidential information, but there are limitations on the extent to which they can restrict whistleblowing activities....more

Perkins Coie

February Tip of the Month: SEC Targets Whistleblower Restrictions in Employment-Related Agreements

Perkins Coie on

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has signaled that it will take aggressive action against employers who, by way of employment-related agreements, restrict, prohibit, or otherwise discourage employees from...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

SEC Takes on Nondisclosure Agreements to Protect Whistleblower Program; Fines Firm $10 Million

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in recent years has taken an aggressive stance against employers over employment agreements that the agency believes impede its whistleblower program—as highlighted by a $10...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

SEC Continues to Police Confidentiality Provisions for Theoretical Whistleblower Suppression

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) levied an $18 million fine against J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC (“JPMS”) for allegedly including overbroad release provisions in settlement agreements. This marks the continuation...more

White & Case LLP

How to Avoid Risk of SEC Whistleblower Rule Violations in Connection with Settlement Agreement Confidentiality Provisions

White & Case LLP on

In March 2023, we published an alert concerning the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") whistleblower protection rule and how to minimize the risk of violations in connection with employee-related documents.1 Last...more

BakerHostetler

Employers Beware: Broad Confidentiality and Severance Clauses May Violate Whistleblower Protection Laws

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Employers should check their confidentiality and severance agreements for a common oversight that, for some, is becoming a costly error. Recent enforcement activity by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Rule...more

Akerman LLP - HR Defense

Jingle All the Way to the SEC: Employers (Even Privately Held) Under Scrutiny for Language in Separation Agreements Impeding SEC...

While jingle bells have only just begun to ring, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement bells have been ringing steadily throughout year. In recent months, the SEC announced significant settlements with...more

Troutman Pepper

Top 10 Tips for Drafting Whistleblower Compliant Arrangements

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Background - Under Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Congress expanded protections for whistleblowers reporting possible violations of federal securities laws to the...more

Venable LLP

New California Employment Laws For 2024

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Now that California's 2023 legislative session has closed and the governor's October 14 deadline to sign or veto new legislation has passed, California employers should take note of a handful of new California laws that will...more

Thomas Fox - Compliance Evangelist

Pre-Taliation Continues to Rear It’s Ugly Head

DE Shaw, a prominent financial services firm, recently settled a retaliation case with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a staggering $10 million. It was settled via an Administrative Order. This settlement...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

Recent Whistleblower Enforcement Actions Highlight SEC Focus On Employee Agreements

Womble Bond Dickinson on

In September, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced the settlement of three enforcement actions for violations of SEC whistleblower protection laws. In the actions, the SEC asserted that the...more

Holland & Knight LLP

SEC Settlements Over Whistleblower Protections Pile Up

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As the SEC closed its fiscal year, it filed three separate enforcement actions against companies for purported violations of Rule 21F-17 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, which prohibits persons from impeding...more

Goodwin

Employers Are Strongly Encouraged to Revisit Whistleblower Protection Language in Agreements and Policies in Light of Recent Legal...

Goodwin on

On Friday, September 29, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order that censured D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P., a registered investment advisor in New York, and assessed a civil penalty of $10,000,000...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Employment Flash - June 2023

New York, Minnesota and NLRB Act To Limit Noncompetes - New York Legislature Passes Bill To Ban Post-Employment Noncompetes - On June 20, 2023, the New York state Legislature passed a bill that bans post-employment...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

2020 Vision: New N.Y. Employment Laws Awaiting Firms in 2020 - Hedge Up: A Heads-Up on Employment Issues Confronting the...

• Whistleblower Carve-Out: For all employment-related agreements containing non-disclosure provisions signed on or after January 1, 2020, firms should include new “whistleblower carve-out” language as dictated by New York...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Global Newsletter: Ogletree Deakins International Employment Update - November 2019

Welcome to the latest issue of the Ogletree Deakins International Employment Update - a newsletter aimed at human resources professionals and in-house employment counsel operating on an international basis. Please scroll...more

BCLP

Want to Protect Your Trade Secrets? Update Your Employment Agreements!

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Since 2016, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) has provided employers with a federal cause of action against employees, former employees and other bad actors who misappropriate trade secrets.  In addition to injunctive...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

SEC Grants Eligibility Waiver to Issue Whistleblower Award

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently awarded $3 million to joint whistleblowers despite concluding that the whistleblowers did not satisfy the technical eligibility requirements for receiving an award. See...more

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