Telework Emboldens Tipsters

Jordan Thomas, prominent whistleblower attorney and former SEC official who helped set up the agency’s whistleblower program a decade ago, was tapped for his perspective on the current state of the program by Matt Robinson and Benjamin Bain in a Bloomberg article published on November 15, 2021.

For its fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, the SEC reported receiving nearly twice as many tips on corporate wrongdoing than in any year before.  The article focuses on how the spike in tips coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, while much of corporate America was working from home.  Jordan reflected on the apparent connection.  “People feel safer at home to collect and report wrongdoing,” he said.  “No one is watching them take pictures of their computer and no one knows they’re recording a conference call with their phone.”

The article also reports that, during this record-breaking year for number of tips, whistleblowers received more awards than in all prior years combined.