Michael Filoromo joined Katz Banks Kumin in May 2008 and co-founded the firm’s Philadelphia office in 2015 after being elevated to partner. He 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.
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 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. He also 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 acknowledgment of his achievements, Mr. Filoromo has been recognized by Best Lawyers in The Best Lawyers in America® list since 2020 and was selected to Super Lawyers in 2023 and Rising Stars from 2019-2022. 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.
As president of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) from 2020 to 2023, Mr. Filoromo led 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. He now serves as an EEOC liaison for the national NELA organization. In 2020, Mr. Filoromo was appointed to the Board of the Outreach to New and Young Lawyers Committee (ONYLC) of the ABA’s Labor and Employment Section, which provides educational and networking opportunities to serve attorneys new to the practice of employment law. He currently serves as the Employee Co-Chair of the ONYLC.
Mr. Filoromo contributes regularly 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.
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
- Michael Filoromo and Lisa Banks, “The CFTC Whistleblower Practice Guide: 2021 Edition,” Katz Banks Kumin (April 2021).
- Michael Filoromo and Lisa Banks, “The SEC Whistleblower Practice Guide: 10th Edition,” Katz Banks Kumin (April 2021).
- Michael Filoromo and Jessica Westerman, “After the election: Anticipated changes in labor and employment law,” Westlaw Today (November 18, 2020).
- Michael Filoromo and Jessica Westerman, “What does federal Coronavirus legislation mean for pharmaceutical employees – and whistleblowers?” CafePharma (April 15, 2020).
- Michael Filoromo and Harry Wellford, “2020 Sarbanes-Oxley Midwinter Report.” ABA Subcommittee on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (February 2020).
- Michael Filoromo and Lisa Banks, “The CFTC Whistleblower Practice Guide: 2020 Edition,” Katz Banks Kumin (January 2020).
- Michael Filoromo and Lisa Banks, “The SEC Whistleblower Practice Guide: 9th Edition,” Katz Banks Kumin (January 2020).
- Michael Filoromo and Zac Arbitman, “How Does a Compliance Officer Blow the Whistle – And What Happens Then?” Corporate Compliance Insights (April 10, 2019).
- Michael Filoromo and Zac Arbitman, “Can Compliance Officers Be Whistleblowers?” Corporate Compliance Insights (March 14, 2019).
- Michael Filoromo and Harry Wellford, “2019 Sarbanes-Oxley Midwinter Report.” ABA Subcommittee on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (February 2019).
- Michael Filoromo and Matthew LaGarde, “INSIGHT: Leveraging the False Claims Act to Combat Opioid Misuse.” Bloomberg Law (August 2, 2018).
- Daniel Cohen, Joshua Feinstein, Michael Filoromo, and Howard Schragin, “New York Employment Law.” ALM Media (November, 2017).
- Michael Filoromo and Matthew LaGarde, “Blowing the Whistle on Fraud in the Health Care Industry.” Westlaw Journal Health Care Fraud (February, 2017).
- Michael Filoromo, “Whistleblower Programs and Protections.” New York Law Journal (December, 2016).
- Michael Filoromo, “Safely Collecting Documents for Whistleblower Suits – Interview with an Employment Attorney.” Cafepharma (October 28, 2016).
- Michael Filoromo, “When Things Go Wrong With Your Job – Interview with an Employment Attorney.” Cafepharma (September 9, 2016).
- Michael Filoromo, “Deciphering the Scope of the Pa. Personnel Files Act.” Law360 (Aug. 9, 2016).
- Michael Filoromo and Lisa Banks, “The SEC’s Increasing Focus on Employer-Employee Confidentiality Agreements.” CCI (Aug. 1, 2016).
- Michael Filoromo and Matthew LaGarde, “Will DTSA Whistleblower Protection Be A Game-Changer?”, Law360 (June 2, 2016).
- David Marshall and Michael Filoromo, “No SEC Whistleblower Awards Yet for FCPA Tips, But Big Incentives Are There,” The FCPA Blog (Mar. 18, 2016).
- Michael Filoromo, “Don’t Ignore Small and Midsize Health FCA Settlements.” Law360 (Aug. 26, 2015).
- David Marshall and Michael Filoromo, “2015 Sarbanes-Oxley Midwinter Report,” ABA Subcommittee on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Feb. 26, 2015).
- Michael Filoromo and David Marshall, “SDNY Widens Split On Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protection,” Law360 (Dec. 18, 2014).
- David Marshall and Michael Filoromo, “American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law: 2014 Sarbanes-Oxley Midwinter Report,” ABA Subcommittee on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Feb. 21, 2014).
- Michael Filoromo and Debra Katz, “Welcome Guidelines on Criminal Background Checks,” The National Law Journal (May 14, 2012).
- Michael Filoromo and Debra Katz, “Whistleblower Protections Restored: Sylvester V. Paraxel,” Law360 (Jun. 10, 2011).
- Michael Filoromo and Debra Katz, “Commentary: Will justices claw at ‘cat’s paw’ theory of employer liability,” National Law Journal’s Supreme Court Insider Blog (Sept. 22, 2010).
- Michael Filoromo and Debra Katz, “How Far Will the High Court Go On 3rd-Party Reprisals?,” Employment Law 360 (July 30, 2010).
- Michael Filoromo and Avi Kumin, “The 2009 Revised Regulations of the Family and Medical Leave Act,” CLE White Paper (Jun. 26, 2010).
- Michael Filoromo and David Marshall, “When Accountants Blow the Whistle: A Brief Overview of Federal and State Protections,” The CPA Journal (May 10, 2010).
- Michael Filoromo and Debra Katz, “Revised Regulations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA),” CLE White Paper (Jun. 18, 2009).
Speaking Engagements
June 30, 2021
Katz Banks Kumin partner Michael A. Filoromo participated in the panel discussion, “Post-Pandemic and Return-to-Work Whistleblowing Issues.”
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.”