Monthly Archives: October 2015
Novartis Reaches $390 Million Settlement in Whistleblower Lawsuit
In the lawsuit, a whistleblower alleged the drug company paid illegal and improper kickbacks to various pharmacies in exchange for the extra promotion of its prescription medication. The suit was filed by a former employee of Novartis, who accused the company of providing major incentives and discounts to pharmacies connected to Exjade, Myfortic and other […]
Railroad Industry a National Leader in Corporate Whistleblower Retaliation Complaints
According to a recent report from FairWarning, an investigative news website, the railroad industry is the harshest on whistleblowers in the United States, with more incidents of corporate whistleblower retaliation than other industry. Over the course of eight years, railroads were at the center of more than 2,000 whistleblower retaliation complaints issued to the Occupational […]
NLRB Ruling Offers More Protections to Employees in Internal Investigations
Many businesses and organizations will, at some point, need to conduct an internal investigation into possible employee misconduct, whether it’s just as a preventive measure or if there’s actual suspected wrongdoing at play. The National Labor Relations Act makes sure employees have the right to take action to receive protection or mutual aid, including the […]
The ‘Three Cs’ to Consider in Internal Investigations
As soon as you become aware of a potential instance of wrongdoing, fraud or other type of problematic conduct in your organization, it’s important to decide how to report it to the proper authorities and whether or not the company will fully cooperate with an investigation. In general, your business is going to encounter several […]
Ninth Circuit Decision Makes it Easier for Whistleblowers to Bring Qui Tam Actions
In a new, important development for how False Claims Act cases will proceed, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned precedent that had limited whistleblowers’ ability to recover money reimbursed to the federal government under the FCA to a more significant extent than a large number of other circuits. The ruling came in the […]
Texas SC: Absolute Privilege Applies to Statements Made During FCPA Investigations
The Texas Supreme Court recently reversed a ruling in a 2013 Texas Court of Appeals case involving Robert Writt and the Shell Oil Company. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice had asked Shell to conduct some internal investigations into possible Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations within the company, and the company agreed to […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Ruling Opens Door for School Board Clerk to be Indicted
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled, in a 6-1 decision, that an employee of the North Bergen School Board may be indicted for taking documents from the district, even though she claims she planned to use them in a discrimination lawsuit against the board. The decision meant the denial of a motion by Ivonne […]
Former VA Official Offers Details on Illegal Removal of Phoenix Whistleblower
A former official from the Department of Veterans Affairs in Phoenix recently signed a sworn affidavit in which she testifies about some serious retaliations made against a whistleblower at the Phoenix VA. That official, Laurie Butler, said she was a part of a meeting with Glen Grippen, the director of the Phoenix VA health care […]
Complaints to a Harassing Supervisor are a Protected Activity Under Federal Law
In a potentially significant case, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the prior decision in EEOC v. New Breed Logistics that in a retaliation claim, requests made to a supervisor that he stop sexually harassing the complainant are considered protected activities under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This is the case even […]
Manager at Philadelphia VA Uses Twitter to Threaten Whistleblowers
Veterans Administration locations across the country have been the subject of a great deal of scrutiny over the past year and half. A recent report reveals a manager at the Philadelphia Department of Veterans Affairs’ regional office tweeted out threats to whistleblowers last year on the same day investigators arrived at the location to inspect […]
