SEC Defends Internal Whistleblower Protections At 2nd Circ.

Following an amicus brief filing by the SEC in which the agency told the Second Circuit that the anti-retaliation provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act apply to both employees who report misconduct directly to the SEC as well as to those who report misconduct internally, Jordan A. Thomas noted that the enforcing whistleblower protections are of increasing importance to the agency, and it will likely bring its own enforcement actions in the future.

He told Law360, “This is a new area for the SEC; their mission is broader…I would hate to be the first company which has an enforcement action brought against them for retaliation against whistleblowers.”