On May 5, 2023, the SEC announced an award of nearly $279 million to a whistleblower who provided the SEC with information and assistance that led to the successful enforcement of SEC and related actions.  This enormous award is the largest-ever in the history of the whistleblower program and is more than double the previous record $114 million award issued…

On February 28, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois granted a defendant-employer’s motion to dismiss a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that the plaintiff failed to adequately plead that he engaged in protected activity because his alleged attempt to raise safety concerns did not plausibly allege that he subjectively believed that he was reporting fraud. …

On February 15, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on SOX whistleblower retaliation claims, holding that the plaintiff failed to establish the elements of a SOX claim, and that the company demonstrated that it would have discharged her in the absence of any protected activity.  Harmon v. Honeywell…

OSHA’s new nationwide year-long pilot program that took effect on February 17, 2023, will aim to streamline the whistleblower complaint intake process.

OSHA, which administers over two dozen whistleblower statutes, has seen a rising number of whistleblower complaints filed in recent years.  This pilot program aims to relieve the strain on OSHA’s investigative resources by allowing an investigator to administratively…

On January 4, the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a former bank executive’s whistleblower retaliation claims, holding that two procedural errors doomed his case: he sued before exhausting his administrative remedies; and then he belatedly filed an administrative complaint after the statute of limitations had run.  Jaludi v. Citigroup, No. 21-cv-1108.

Background

Plaintiff alleged that he was demoted,…

On December 6, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on whistleblower retaliation claims brought under SOX and the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (“CFPA”).  It held that the plaintiff could not prove that her alleged complaints of illegal conduct contributed to the decision to discharge her, and…

On August 26, 2022, the Third Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment in favor of an employer, holding that whistleblower retaliation protections in the False Claims Act did not protect an employee from being discharged for harassing a co-worker.  Crosbie v. Highmark Inc., et al., No. 21-1641.

Background

Plaintiff was a fraud investigator for a health insurance…