Monthly Archives: March 2016
SEC Hands Out $700,000 Award to Whistleblower
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded a whistleblower with more than $700,000 after the whistleblower’s reports to the agency resulted in a successful enforcement action. Three other whistleblowers were denied awards, according to the SEC’s case order. This large sum was just the latest awarded handed out under the SEC’s whistleblower program, which […]
SEC Aims to Ensure Whistleblowers are Uninhibited
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has done a lot to increase the protections afforded to whistleblowers in the last several years. In 2015, the agency took several steps to further ensure whistleblowers are not prevented from coming forward and reporting incidents of wrongdoing within their organizations. Since the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act of […]
How Businesses Can Strengthen Compliance, Support Whistleblowers
It’s natural for employers to feel as if they are in a tough spot when it comes to protecting confidentiality related to whistleblower claims, as these actions inherently come from an employee’s ability to report wrongdoing to enforcement agencies. However, there are steps companies can take to strengthen compliance and support would-be whistleblowers. The Whistleblower […]
Bank of America Subsidiary Pays $36 Million Settlement in Overtime Lawsuit
Lansafe Appraisal Services Inc., an appraisal subsidiary of Bank of America, recently agreed to pay a $36 million settlement in a class action lawsuit in which the company was accused of wrongfully classifying residential real estate appraisers as being exempt from overtime pay. There were 365 members of the plaintiff class, each of whom will […]
Whistleblower Lawsuit Proceeds Against Pennsylvania Turnpike
A former Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission manager filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the agency, alleging he was wrongfully terminated in 2008 after he reported various wasteful practices, politically motivated contracts and other alleged improprieties. The case was given the green light to proceed this fall. The former manager, Ralph Ballets, had worked for the PTC from […]
Kmart Pays $1.4 Million Settlement in Medicare Fraud Case
The Kmart Corporation has agreed to pay $1.4 million to settle allegations by the federal government that it violated the False Claims Act. The U.S. Department of Justice said Kmart was accused of inducing beneficiaries under Medicare to fill prescriptions at Kmart pharmacies. According to reports, Kmart let Medicare beneficiaries use coupons from drug manufacturers […]
First ACA Whistleblower Claim Resolved with $6.88 Million Settlement
In the first-ever healthcare fraud lawsuit resulting from whistleblower actions under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a provider of home medical care services to medically vulnerable children has agreed to pay a settlement worth $6.8 million. As a part of the settlement, the two whistleblowers who alerted authorities to the company’s wrongdoing split […]
Alternative Dispute Resolution Can Work Well in Whistleblower Cases
When Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, it included a whistleblower provision (Section 806) that protected employees of public companies who were victims of retaliation after they had either disclosed or complained about fraudulent acts by their employers. Since then, the number of cases that can be brought under SOX has been significantly increased. […]
SEC Clarifies Discrepancy in Whistleblower Definitions
An important milestone in U.S. whistleblower protections came last August when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) clarified some existing discrepancies in what constitutes “whistleblowers” and the protections afforded to them. There had previously been some questions as to whether whistleblowers were entitled to protection under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act […]
