Monthly Archives: January 2015
Two Men Receive $7.6 Million in Goldman Sachs Wrongful Firing Suit
A pair of former brokers for Goldman Sachs & Company’s Los Angeles offices earned $7.6 million in monetary awards after filing a wrongful termination and discrimination suit against the company. The men, Chris Barra and Luis Sampredo, received a total of $5.2 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages against the company. […]
A Look Back at SEC Whistleblowers in 2014
In retrospect, 2014 has to be considered a success for the whistleblower program run by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This year, whistleblowers who earned awards through the SEC earned more money than in all previous years of the program’s existence combined, with one whistleblower who reported major fraud within a company […]
OSHA Hands Down Record Award Under Federal Railroad Safety Act
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) gave a MTA Metro-North railroad employee a record award under the Federal Railroad Safety Act after they suffered an injury in 2011. The $250,000 in punitive damages and additional $10,000 in compensatory damages awarded to the unnamed victim make up the most money ever given in a FSRA […]
Minnesota Overturns Precedent By Extending Whistleblower Statute of Limitations
On December 15, the Court of Appeals for the state of Minnesota made a decision that reversed 20 years of precedent by extending the Minnesota Whistleblower Act’s statute of limitations from two to six years. The decision came in a claim made by a former employee of Minneapolis Public Schools who reported financial discrepancies within […]
Whistleblowers on Wall Street Could Earn Share of $425 Million Pot
Since the establishment of the SEC Whistleblower Program, there have been a lot more highly publicized cases of whistleblowers coming forward and revealing wrongdoing within their organizations, specifically in regard to fraudulent activity. Awards through the SEC have been reaching record levels this year, with one person coming away with a $30 million settlement after […]
Consumer Financial Product Whistleblower Claims on the Rise
Since the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was enacted in 2010, there has been a significant rise in complaints filed under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), with a corresponding drop of SOX complaints filed through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The total amount of whistleblower complaints has been on […]
Judge Will Allow Dow Whistleblower to File Wrongful Termination Suit
A federal judge is allowing an ex-fraud investigator for Dow Chemical Co. to pursue a wrongful termination claim. Kimberly Wood, who had worked for 25 years at Dow before the company fired her in October, alleges that the company was engaged in significant financial misconduct, specifically major spending by the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Andrew […]
When Do Reports Not Constitute Whistleblower Actions?
Not all reports of internal wrongdoing are technically considered whistleblower actions. In 2013, the First Circuit Court established an important “job duties” exception related to the Maine Whistleblowers Protection Act. The exception states that employee’s reports are not considered whistleblowing if making such internal reports of wrongdoing is part of the employee’s job. Since the […]
Bank of America Whistleblower Wins $57 Million Decision
In what is being considered a record, landmark case, a former bank executive at Countrywide Financial (now owned by Bank of America Corporation) was awarded $57 million for exposing the presence of fraud in the company’s mortgage practices. Edward O’Donnell initially filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Countrywide, accusing the company of defrauding mortgage finance […]
Whistleblower Awarded $175 Million in Trinity Industries Lawsuit
A federal jury determined that Trinity Industries, a Texas-based guardrail manufacturer, must pay $175 million in penalties after a whistleblower alerted authorities to False Claims Act violations by the company. Trinity manufactures many of the guardrails that you see as you drive on highways and roads across the nation. Josh Harman, the whistleblower in the […]
