Michael Filoromo joined Katz Banks Kumin in May 2008. Now a partner at the firm and the President of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association, Mr. Filoromo has helped achieve successful outcomes under whistleblower laws, including a $2.4 million award for a client through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whistleblower program, one of the first 50 awards the SEC issued. Most recently, he represented a whistleblower in a qui tam lawsuit against Medicrea, a medical device company. In May 2021, Medicrea paid a total of $2 million to federal and state governments to settle allegations that it violated anti-kickback statutes, and failed to disclose to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services payments it made to healthcare providers. Mr. Filoromo’s client received 22 percent of the False Claims Act proceeds.

Mr. Filoromo has litigated whistleblower cases in federal and state courts and the U.S. Department of Labor. He regularly represents clients in claims brought under the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate whistleblower protections, the False Claims Act anti-retaliation provisions, and the anti-discrimination and retaliation protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and corresponding state laws. He also frequently represents whistleblowers in the aviation, nuclear, railroad, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industries.

In 2014, Mr. Filoromo and Lisa Banks represented the former Director of Food and Nutrition Services for the District of Columbia Public Schools in a case brought under the D.C. Whistleblower Protection Act, the D.C. False Claims Act, and various constitutional and state law provisions. The case, Jeffrey Mills v. D.C. Public Schools, resulted in a $450,000 settlement for Mr. Mills. In 2016, Mr. Filoromo achieved one of the first reasonable cause determinations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in an aviation whistleblower case. OSHA ordered reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages, and attorneys’ fees, and the case resolved after an appeal. Mr. Filoromo has also litigated whistleblower cases in federal court under state wrongful termination claims and the Food Safety Modernization Act.

In acknowledgement of his achievements, Mr. Filoromo was recognized in the 2020 and 2021 editions of Best Lawyers in America for his work in the area of qui tam law, and as a Pennsylvania “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers from 2019-2021. Also in 2020, The Legal Intelligencer named Mr. Filoromo a “Pennsylvania Trailblazer,” an annual award honoring attorneys who are agents of change in their legal communities. Mr. Filoromo co-founded the firm’s Philadelphia office in 2015 after being elevated to partner. As president of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association, Mr. Filoromo leads an organization of approximately 80 plaintiff-side employment attorneys, developing educational and networking events, coordinating amicus briefing on issues important to the rights of workers, and organizing policy outreach on key local and state legislation and judicial nominations. Additionally, Mr. Filoromo serves as the Employee Co-Chair of Outreach to New and Young Lawyers Committee of the ABA’s Labor and Employment Section, which provides educational and networking opportunities to serve attorneys new to the practice of employment law.

Mr. Filoromo contributes regularly to to Whistleblower Law: A Practitioner’s Guide, a treatise first published in 2016 by American Legal Media (ALM) that is updated twice per year. He also authored a chapter for the ALM book New York Employment Law, originally published in 2017 and updated annually. Mr. Filoromo has also been interviewed by CNN, Bloomberg Law, and Cafepharma and has authored numerous articles for legal and trade publications, including Law360, the National Law Journal, the Westlaw Journal Healthcare Fraud, and the CPA Journal, and has led panel discussions on whistleblower law for the American Bar Association, the Practising Law Institute, and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.

Mr. Filoromo is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.

Chris Smith SEC Whistleblower Award (2017)
Katz Banks Kumin partners David Marshall and Michael Filoromo represented Chris Smith, the first government employee to receive an SEC whistleblower award.
Mr. Smith realized that a company was abusing SEC time-stamping rules in order to avoid paying investors the full amount they were owed. He reported the practice internally to his agency, and then to the offending company. After neither took corrective action, Smith reported his information to the SEC. Over the next several years, he aided the Commission significantly in an investigation that culminated in an $8 million enforcement action. Mr. Smith received a $2.4 million award, 30% off the enforcement action, the maximum under the program.
Read the ABA Journal’s story on Chris Smith here.

Giersdorf v. Peninsula Airways (2016)
Katz Banks Kumin partners Lisa Banks and Michael Filoromo represented pilot Ron Giersdorf in his AIR 21 whistleblower complaint after he was terminated by Peninsula Airways for raising safety concerns. The U.S. Department of Labor found reasonable cause to believe the airline violated federal whistleblower laws, and ordered reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages, and attorneys’ fees on behalf of Mr. Giersdorf.

Mills v. D.C. Public Schools (2014)
In 2014, Jeffrey Mills was fired from D.C. Public Schools after serving as the Director of Food and Nutrition Services since 2010. Michael Filoromo worked with Katz Banks Kumin partner Lisa Banks to represent Mr. Mills, alleging constitutional violations and wrongful termination in violation of public policy, the D.C. Whistleblower Protection Act, and the D.C. False Claims Act. Mr. Mills’ employment case against the District of Columbia was settled for $450,000 plus certain non-monetary provisions.

Publications

Speaking Engagements

November 13, 2021
Katz Banks Kumin partner Michael A. Filoromo participated in the panel discussion, “Developments in Corporate Whistleblower Law: Sabarnes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank, and the New Antitrust and Anti-Money Laundering Statutes.”
Practising Law Institute (PLI) Webcast COVID-19 Whistleblowing and Best Practices
June 30, 2021
Katz Banks Kumin partner Michael A. Filoromo participated in the panel discussion, “Post-Pandemic and Return-to-Work Whistleblowing Issues.”
February 19, 2021
Katz Banks Kumin partner Michael Filoromo spoke on the future of the SEC Whistleblower Program and Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower protections under the new Biden administration.
November 8, 2019
Katz Banks Kumin partner Michael Filoromo spoke at the 2019 ABA Annual Employment and Labor Conference on the panel, “Ethical and Strategic Issues: When the Whistleblower is a Gatekeeper.”
February 22nd, 2019
Katz Banks Kumin partner Michael Filoromo III spoke at an ABA Section of Labor and Employment conference session called “In a Sox World: Be Careful What You Wish For.”
October 12th, 2018
Katz Banks Kumin partner Michael Filoromo III spoke at the Employment Forum, an educational event organized by the Public Interest Law Center, about the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Dodd-Frank Act: Key Developments under the Anti-Retaliation and SEC Reward Provisions​
April 27, 2016
Katz Banks Kumin partner Michael A. Filromo, III, presented a continuing legal education panel at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s 22nd Annual Employment Law Institute entitled “The Dodd-Frank Act: Key Developments under the Anti-Retaliation and SEC Reward Provisions.”