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Saturday, January 24, 2015

Big Whistleblower Predictions for 2015

Today's ost is shaed from blogs.wsj.com/

About a year ago, we ran a post positing that 2014 would be huge for corporate whistleblowers on a number of fronts. The experts with whom we spoke then hit the nail on the head: every prediction came true.

They were right about more Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower awards arriving (including one for a record $30 million-plus), False Claims Act cases hitting a new record and courts further defining who counts as a whistleblower.

Here what some whistleblower experts think may happen in the year ahead:

More focus on employment contracts. The SEC has said it is scrutinizing companies’ use of contracts that forbid employees from reporting suspected wrongdoing to the government. “That’s of very big interest to them,” said Rebecca Katz, a member at law-firm Motley Rice LLC and head of its SEC whistleblower practice.

That could mean the agency could take action against a company that has used these contracts, Ms. Katz said.

The SEC will likely continue to focus on whistleblower retaliation, said Jordan Thomas, partner and head of the whistleblower representation practice at law-firm Labaton Sucharow LLP. “It’s becoming a standard area of inquiry with cases involving whistleblowers,” he said.

Last year, the agency brought its first-ever whistleblower retaliation case against a hedge-fund advisory firm.

Companies may...


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