Whistleblower Law Blog
New York Expands Protections for Whistleblowers
January 4, 2022
For the second year in a row, New York has passed new legislation expanding protection for whistleblowers, likely in response to the prevalence of both whistleblowing and retaliation in the era of COVID-19. Until these amendments, whistleblowers enjoyed relatively scant protection under New York state laws, and relied primarily...
CFTC Awards $200 Million to Whistleblower
November 29, 2021
Last month the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it had awarded $200 million to a single whistleblower, by far the largest award it has ever granted. Prior to this award, the largest award given to any individual was about $30 million.
While the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates the...
Update on CFTC Whistleblower Program and Recent Award
October 12, 2021
Concerns about whether the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “the Commission”) will have the resources to continue administering its whistleblower program were alleviated, at least in the short term, by Senate bill S. 409, signed by President Biden on July 6, 2021. The bill allows for the transfer of $10 million...
Protections for Whistleblowers Who Share Company Documents
October 11, 2021
Frances Haugen, a former product manager at Facebook, recently revealed her identity as the whistleblower who reported Facebook to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and provided internal Facebook documents to Congress and to the press. Questions have arisen about what kinds of protections she and other...
House Considers Enhanced Protections for Federal Government Whistleblowers
September 9, 2021
The Whistleblower Protection Act prohibits most employers in the federal executive branch from retaliating against employees and job applicants who lawfully report what they reasonably believe to be a legal violation or “gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to...
FAA Implements Voluntary Safety Reporting Program to Address Concerns About Industry Influence
September 3, 2021
On June 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA” or “the Agency”) announced a new Voluntary Safety Reporting Program (“the Program”) to enable the more than 7,000 professionals in its Aviation Safety office to report safety-related concerns confidentially and without fear of...
Whistleblowers Accessing Company Documents Likely Will Not Be Prosecuted Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
August 16, 2021
Until recently, logging onto Facebook a few too many times on a work computer could not only get workers fired but also theoretically land them in prison for up to 10 years if they were prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”). Workers who push the envelope on conducting personal business on company property...
Miami Condo Collapse: What Role Can Whistleblowers Play to Prevent Such Tragedies?
June 27, 2021
In the early morning hours of June 24, 2021, a 13-story condominium building in the town of Surfside on Miami Beach, Florida, collapsed. Tragically, four people have been confirmed dead, and search and rescue crews continue their efforts to find other survivors, with at least 156 people still unaccounted for. According to...
As Vaccine Rollout Continues, What Whistleblower Protections Exist in Big Pharma?
April 14, 2021
The nationwide rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has continued to gain momentum some five months after the shot first became available to limited populations. In all 50 states, everyone above the age of 16 is either already eligible to receive the shot, or will become eligible shortly. On April 3rd, more than 4 million people in...
The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act: An Excellent – but Flawed – Step Forward
March 24, 2021
In the wake of “fake news” and the renewed focus on the incredible power of American technology giants, monopolistic and anticompetitive behavior across industries has been thrust into the spotlight once more. Many companies have seized upon the radical transformation of the American economy brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic...
