Whistleblower Law Blog
Study Proves the Value of Whistleblowers in Bringing Down Fraudsters
August 31, 2017
A recent study published in the Journal of Accounting Research examines whether the participation of a whistleblower affects the outcome of an enforcement action against companies that commit financial fraud. The study seeks to quantify the impact of a whistleblower’s tip or assistance during an investigation on the final...
AG Sessions Vows to Continue Enforcement of FCPA
July 6, 2017
Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently affirmed the administration’s commitment to enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), the anti-bribery law that President Donald Trump had once ridiculed as a “horrible law” before he ran for office. On April 24, Sessions addressed attendees at the Ethics and Compliance...
Ninth Circuit Whistleblower Case a Reminder that Small Changes to Strategy Can Have Big Impacts on Outcomes
June 20, 2017
In Rocheleau v. Microsemi Corp., Inc., No. 15-56029, --- F. App’x ---, 2017 WL 677563 (9th Cir. Feb. 21, 2017), the Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to dismiss a plaintiff’s claims under the whistleblower protection provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and the...
ARB Allows Affordable Care Act Whistleblower Claim to Proceed
June 14, 2017
When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law in 2010, Congress created new anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation protections for all employees, that are particularly helpful to healthcare workers. This provision has received relatively little attention, including in the recent congressional debate on...
Wrongly Terminated Wells Fargo Employee Wins $5.4M Whistleblower Award
June 8, 2017
On April 3, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it has ordered Wells Fargo to reinstate and compensate a whistleblower who was terminated after reporting suspected fraudulent acts in 2010.
The whistleblower, whose identity has not been released, is reported to have been a Los Angeles-based...
Could This Maryland SOX Whistleblower Case Be a Sign of Things to Come?
May 25, 2017
In Olekanma v. Wolfe, No. CV-DKC-15-0984, 2017 WL 784121 (D. Md. Mar. 1, 2017), Maryland’s federal district court granted a motion to dismiss claims brought under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) and the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 by Samuel Olekanma, a corrections officer at the Jessup Correctional Institution (“JCI”). Mr....
How has the SCOTUS Escobar Decision Influenced FCA Suits?
May 16, 2017
Ten months after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a blockbuster False Claims Act decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, the Court’s clarified interpretation of the False Claims Act (FCA) is proving to be more favorable to defendants than to whistleblowers.
In June 2016, the Court resolved a...
Ninth Circuit Sides with Whistleblowers on Scope of Dodd-Frank Protections
May 5, 2017
In an encouraging development for whistleblowers, a prominent federal appellate court recently expanded anti-retaliation protections for workers in the financial industry. In Somers v. Digital Realty Trust, Inc., a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the Dodd-Frank Act’s anti-...
Vague Complaints Fail to Add Up to STAA Violation, According to ARB
April 11, 2017
The Administrative Review Board (ARB) of the Department of Labor (DOL) recently ruled that a transportation worker’s general complaint that a vehicle is unsafe will not constitute protected activity under federal law. In Leaks v. Arctic Glacier, ARB No. 15-079, ALJ No. 2014-STA-80 (ARB Feb. 7, 2017), the ARB reviewed a...
Congress Aims to Strengthen Federal Employee Whistleblower Protections under New Administration
March 28, 2017
Amid reports that the Trump administration is silencing dissent in the executive branch, it may be surprising to learn that protections for federal whistleblowers could soon be expanding significantly. In November 2016, the House passed the Follow the Rules Act (“FRA”) to protect federal employees who refuse to obey an...
