Category Archives: Employee Rights
Texas Supreme Court to Weigh In on Shell Defamation Suit
The Texas Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Shell Oil Co.’s pending defamation case. Robert Writt, a former Shell employee, sued the company for defamation after Shell submitted a report to the Department of Justice about his alleged involvement in committing numerous violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA). It’s an interesting case — […]
SEC Whistleblower Office Reaches Three-Year Anniversary
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Whistleblower has only been open since August 2011, yet it has already made a pretty big name for itself in protecting the rights of whistleblowers and awarding them for their contributions. Within those three years, many whistleblowers have come away with large monetary awards, which […]
Agencies Still Falling Short of Federal Whistleblower Protection Standards
While there are more laws in place than ever before regarding the fair treatment and protection of whistleblowers in the United States, there are still some government agencies that are falling short of complying with the rules outlined in the 2012 Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. The most common compliance issues still at issue include the […]
Costs for FCPA Investigations Can Be Huge, Making Insurance Coverage Important
Investigations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) can quickly become extremely costly. In fact, Walmart recently spent more than $439 million within a two-year span on these types of investigations alone. While this is a rather extreme example, companies that have any sort of internal operations should at least be familiar with how they […]
NLRB Rules that Facebook “Likes” are Protected By Labor Law
One provision of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) states that employees are protected from any form of employer retaliation when they commit “concerted protected activity,” which essentially means any form of activity that involves workers airing their concerns or opinions about their treatment or pay at work. A recent decision from the National Labor […]
Sixth Circuit Rules FedEx Failed to Properly Explain FMLA to Employee
The Sixth Circuit Court recently affirmed a jury verdict in favor of an employee in a major Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) interference claim. According to the decision, FedEx was liable for failing to provide the claimant employee with proper written notice of all of the consequences of not returning a completed medical certification […]
Important Considerations for Cohesive Internal Investigations
After potentially illegal or unethical wrongdoing is exposed within an organization, the most important step to take is to launch a comprehensive internal investigation. This can be a major challenge, and there are a number of key considerations to keep in mind as your team engages in this process. To begin a sound internal investigation, […]
Product Safety Groups Seek Transparency in Whistleblower Suit
A pair of organizations that advocate for safe consumer products have asked for the unsealing of court documents related to a major whistleblower case. The case, recently declared a mistrial, is related to Texas-based Trinity Industries and potentially unsafe guardrails the company produces, which have been used on highways across the United States. The Center […]
Fortune: Women More Effective Whistleblowers
A recent article in Fortune magazine explored the issue of whistleblowing and how it appears that women are more likely than men to call out illegal or unethical activities within their organizations. The article features the story of Carmen Segarra, a New York Federal Reserve examiner who recognized a problematic relationship between her agency and […]
Second Circuit: No Dodd-Frank Protections for Whistleblowers Overseas
The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals made an important ruling in August, deciding that the whistleblower protections in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act do not cover individuals who work for companies located outside the United States. In the ruling, the court sided with Siemens AG, a well-known German engineering and technology firm, in a case […]
