While jingle bells have only just begun to ring, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement bells have been ringing steadily throughout year. In recent months, the SEC announced significant settlements with employers for violations of Rule 21F-17 — the SEC’s whistleblower protection rule — as a result of language in non-disclosure agreements, separation … Continue Reading
California employers can expect to see an uptick in whistleblower claims as a result of a recent California Supreme Court ruling that increases the burden on employers to prove that adverse employment actions are based on legitimate reasons and not on protected reporting of unlawful activities. Seeking to settle “widespread confusion” among lower courts, the … Continue Reading
New York employers, take heed: sweeping expansions to New York Labor Law (NYLL) Section 740 have fundamentally redefined the protections afforded to whistleblowers within the state. The revised law took effect on January 26, 2022, opening the door to a potential deluge of whistleblower claims against employers. Notable changes to Section 740 include the following:… Continue Reading
Employers that bar staff from communicating with the media should take another look at those prohibitions, following a recent federal appellate decision finding such a policy unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). An employee’s critical letter to the editor might be embarrassing, but taking action against the author for writing it may be … Continue Reading
California has enacted a host of new laws impacting family and medical leave, coronavirus reporting obligations, workers compensation, pay gap data, worker classifications, and more. Here are the highlights, including when employers must abide by the new laws.… Continue Reading
The much-anticipated surge of COVID-19 pandemic-related litigation has begun. As the pandemic continues to lay siege to the United States economy, claimants’ lawyers and government agencies have begun setting their sights on employers.… Continue Reading
Consider this in the era of COVID-19: how does an employer comply with its duty to provide employees a safe workplace when the workplace is not one controlled by the employer?… Continue Reading
The Black Lives Matter movement, protesting racism, police brutality, and the deaths of George Floyd and other Black Americans, has not only been seen and heard in streets around the world; it has found a new voice in corporate boardrooms as well. The 8-minute, 46-second video of a police officer indifferently kneeling on the neck … Continue Reading
As shelter in place restrictions ease and U.S. workplaces begin to reopen, both union and nonunion employers may find themselves facing a host of new challenges. Employers may wonder what they should be doing to keep their employees safe at work. They may wonder what kinds of medical tests they can perform on employees before … Continue Reading
While the current administration is taking steps to dismantle what it views as excessive regulation, one thing is clear: whistleblowers continue to blow the whistle, and ever more visibly so.… Continue Reading
Employers take heed: there is a further split in authority as to whether whistleblowers are protected under the Dodd-Frank Act if they only report securities-law violations internally, and not to the Securities and Exchange Commission. A recent decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals adds to the existing split among federal appellate courts as … Continue Reading
All employers should review their confidentiality policies and agreements to ensure adequate protections for whistleblowers in the wake of recent actions by both the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”).… Continue Reading
The Florida private sector Whistleblower’s Act protects employees who object or refuse to participate in a violation of a law, rule or regulation by their employer. But an employee’s “reasonable belief” of a violation is insufficient – the employee must prove an actual violation to state a claim under the FWA, according to a recent decision … Continue Reading
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that the Dodd-Frank Act does not protect whistleblowers outside the United States. In Liu Meng Lin v. Siemens AG, Case No. 13‐4385‐cv (2nd Cir. August 14, 2014), the court affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of a Dodd-Frank whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former Siemens … Continue Reading
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act protects employees who blow the whistle on possible securities law violations. But the question of who qualifies as a whistleblower continues to divide courts, as illustrated by two recent cases. In Englehart v. Career Education Corp., Case 8:14-cv-444-T-33EAJ (M.D. Fla., May 12, 2014), the plaintiff, an … Continue Reading
“The cover-up is often worse than the crime” – an apt mantra for employers who are being increasingly forced to defend retaliation and/or whistleblower claims brought in myriad industries under a broad spectrum of federal and state laws. The United States Supreme Court’s recent (and landmark) decision in Lawson v. FMR LLC, broadly expanding the … Continue Reading
Dealing with an employee who has filed a claim places an employer in a precarious position – the employer needs to properly manage the employee, but avoid a retaliation claim in the process. It’s like walking a tightrope. Employers have seen it many times – a troublesome employee is about to be disciplined, sees the … Continue Reading
Claims by employees “blowing the whistle” on their employer are on the rise in today’s workplace. Will you be ready when the whistle is blown on your company? Better yet, can you prevent whistleblower claims from being raised in the first place? Various provisions of state and federal law prohibit retaliation against employees who “blow … Continue Reading
The Florida Whistleblower Act (“FWA”) prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who object to, or refuse to participate in, the employer’s violation of a law, rule, or regulation. But most courts have held that an employee must show that he opposed an actual violation of a law, rule or regulation; a good faith belief that … Continue Reading
A workers’ compensation retaliation claim must be arbitrated under the parties’ arbitration agreement, according to a recent decision by Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal, Audio Visual Innovations, Inc. v. Spiessbach (Fla. 2d DCA, August 16, 2013). Michael Spiessbach injured his back while working for Audio Visual Communications, Inc. (AVI). He claimed that after filing … Continue Reading
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) has named a former chairman of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (“MSPB”), as the new director of OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program. On November 20, officials of OSHA announced that Beth Siavet will lead the agency’s whistleblower protection efforts. OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational … Continue Reading
You have done everything right. You provide a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for taking an adverse employment action against one of your employees. You provide all the evidence any jury could ever want, which you believe shows that the employee was never treated differently than other similarly situated employees. You think you are a sure bet … Continue Reading
