Tag archives: whistleblower

2nd Circuit finds that Terminated Whistleblower Employees Must Prove Retaliatory Intent in Sarbanes-Oxley Act Lawsuits

Photo of Kevin MacNeillPhoto of Preston BraschBy Kevin MacNeill and Preston Brasch on Posted in United States
In a recent decision, Trevor Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit considered section 1514A of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), which protects employees of publicly traded companies from adverse employment actions that “discriminate against an employee . . . because of” any lawful whistleblowing act. On appeal, … Continue reading

How to address employment issues involving a whistleblower

Photo of David CrossBy David Cross and Norah Chafardet on Posted in Australia
Under the whistleblowing regime in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (CA), it is unlawful for someone to cause or threaten to cause detriment to, or victimise, a person because they believe or suspect that the person has made, may have made, or could make a whistleblowing disclosure (Whistleblower).  Very substantial civil and criminal sanctions apply … Continue reading

Extension of whistleblowing protection

Photo of Amanda Sanders (UK)By Amanda Sanders (UK) on Posted in UK, Whistleblowing
Workers in the UK are protected from suffering a detriment where they have made a protected disclosure under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996). To be protected under section 47B ERA 1996 the individual must be a worker as defined by s203(3) of that Act.  A recent decision of the Supreme Court considered whether … Continue reading

New EU rules for protection of whistleblowers

Photo of Cornelia MarquardtBy Cornelia Marquardt on Posted in Contracts, Data privacy and GDPR, Europe, Whistleblowing
On 7 October 2019, the EU Council formally adopted the new Whistleblowing Directive that will guarantee whistleblowers EU-wide standards of protection. The Directive obliges both public and private organisations and authorities to set up secure reporting channels, so that whistleblowers can report violations of EU law as safely as possible. Member States have two years … Continue reading

New whistleblowing laws require a compliant policy

Photo of Shannon WalkerBy Shannon Walker on Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia
Amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) take effect from 1 July 2019 ushering in significant changes to Australia’s whistleblowing laws.[1] Chief among the key changes is a requirement on public companies and large proprietary companies[2] to have a compliant whistleblowing policy by 1 January 2020. A failure … Continue reading

German court: Protection of whistle-blower confidentiality does not generally override the data subject access right

Photo of Cornelia MarquardtBy Cornelia Marquardt on Posted in Europe, Germany
On the scope of subject access requests under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GRPR) in the context of compliance and whistle-blowing regimes, the Regional Labour Court (Landesarbeitsgericht) of Stuttgart decided that an employer was required not only to provide an employee with the records containing performance and behavioural data, but also to disclose information … Continue reading

Do managers typically think of personal liability when making decisions to dismiss? They perhaps should

Photo of Paul Griffin (UK)By Paul Griffin (UK) on Posted in General, UK, Whistleblowing
Directors and senior managers and their employers should consider the recent Court of Appeal decision in the Osipov whistleblowing case very carefully. Briefly, by way of scene-setting, Osipov had made a series of protected disclosures and he was ultimately dismissed as CEO of the employer company pursuant to a decision of two non-executive directors (NEDS) … Continue reading

New protection of French whistleblowers under the Sapin II Law

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France, Whistleblowing
Much attention was focused recently on President Obama’s decision, in the final days of his presidency, on commuting the sentence of Chelsea Manning, who provided certain classified information to WikiLeaks. In France, new legislation has recently been passed and implemented harmonizing the protection of whistleblowing employees (https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do;jsessionid=4BBFD240827AF0FD9A6340FF254E6F1B.tpdila21v_3?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000033558528&categorieLien=id). Who is concerned? Under the new regulation, whistleblowers … Continue reading

What are the latest developments on whistleblowing in the workplace?

Photo of Judicaël FouquetBy Judicaël Fouquet on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France
French employment law does not yet provide for a comprehensive and consistent set of rules for the purpose of protecting whistleblowers. Instead, French employment law tackles issues arising out of whistleblowing situations through a relatively meager set of legislative provisions. Current legislation Under currently applicable legislation, no employee can be disciplined, dismissed or discriminated against … Continue reading

“What are the latest developments on whistleblowing in the workplace in Germany?”

Photo of Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, Germany, Whistleblowing
Apart from the well-known Wiki-leaks, recent prominent cases of whistleblowing such as Lux-leaks, the Panama Papers or the case of the German geriatric nurse Brigitte Heinisch, who was dismissed after revealing the ill-treatment of elderly people in a Berlin retirement home, continue to highlight the continued relevance of the topic “whistleblowing”. While this has resulted … Continue reading

Retaliation and whistleblower claims in healthcare expected to remain high

Photo of Dennis Jackson (US)Photo of Jamila Mensah (US)By Dennis Jackson (US) and Jamila Mensah (US) on Posted in United States, Whistleblowing
The number of retaliation and whistleblower claims in the US continue to rise. According to data released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), retaliation claims made up 44.5 percent of all charges filed in 2015.  Also, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported a 6 percent increase in the number of whistleblower cases … Continue reading

Dutch senate passes Act House for whistleblowers

Global Workplace InsiderBy Annette van Beers and Maartje Govaert on Posted in Europe, The Netherlands, Whistleblowing
On 1 March 2016, the Dutch senate adopted the Act House for whistleblowers (the Act). The Act introduces an independent and impartial governmental institution that investigates wrongdoing and assists employees in disclosure proceedings: the House for Whistleblowers. In addition, the proposal introduces several rules to protect whistleblowers. The Act is expected to come into force … Continue reading

Whistleblowing – what protection do employees have in Hong Kong?

Photo of Wynne MokPhoto of Rebecca HuiBy Wynne Mok and Rebecca Hui on Posted in Asia Pacific, Discrimination and harassment, General, Hong Kong, Whistleblowing
Notwithstanding the growing global trend in the adoption of express whistleblowing laws (e.g. the US, the UK and Japan), the Hong Kong government has not yet shown any sign of following suit.  So, what protection do employees have if they “blow their whistles” on wrongdoers in their workplace?  Whistleblowing protection under statue/common law There is … Continue reading

Obamacare: does it hide a potent whistleblower pill?

Photo of Mario Barrera (US)Photo of James HughesBy Mario Barrera (US) and James Hughes on Posted in United States, Whistleblowing
The Affordable Care Act (ACA)—or “Obamacare”—has gotten plenty of attention due to technical glitches with the HealthCare.gov website, consumers’ difficulties obtaining (or keeping) insurance through the exchanges, and Health Secretary Sibelius’s recent resignation. But some notable provisions of the ACA have gone largely unremarked—particularly an amendment to Title 29 of the U.S. Code. Added by … Continue reading

Whistleblower protection in the Netherlands: House for Whistleblowers

Photo of Henry PalmenBy Henry Palmen on Posted in Europe, The Netherlands, Whistleblowing
Introduction The legislative proposal known as ‘House for Whistleblowers’ is pending in the Netherlands. The proposal introduces an independent and impartial governmental institution that investigates wrongdoing and assists employees in disclosure proceedings: the House for Whistleblowers. In addition, the proposal introduces several rules to protect whistleblowers. The situation under current Dutch law and under the … Continue reading

Top 30 whistleblowing statutes – from Ralph Nader to Edward Snowden

Photo of Mario Barrera (US)Photo of James HughesBy Mario Barrera (US) and James Hughes on Posted in United States, Whistleblowing
In the 1970s, a particular brand of cigarettes geared towards women used the tag line “you’ve have come a long way baby,” and today, the same could be said for the term “whistleblower.” In the early to mid-20th century, individuals who reported illegal activity were often referred to in pejorative terms such as “rats” and … Continue reading

Whistleblowing – what protection do employees have in Venezuela?

Photo of Yanet AguiarBy Yanet Aguiar on Posted in Latin America, Venezuela, Whistleblowing
There is no legal protection for whistleblowers in Venezuela and it is not common in practice. However, many transnational and local companies in Venezuela have policies and code of conducts protecting those who step up and expose Corruption, fraud, mismanagement, breaches of legal obligations. Some of these companies have hot lines through which employees are … Continue reading
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