Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Federal Court Rejects Fired Employee’s Sarbanes-Oxley "Whistleblower" Claim

Because the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is still fairly new, federal courts are just now being asked to decide what kinds of activities will be considered "protected" for purposes of triggering a whistleblower claim under the statute. A Michigan district court managed to duck the issue recently when it held that, even assuming the former employee had satisfied the "protected activity" requirement, he had failed to establish a causal connection between those activities and his termination. See Sussberg v. K-Mart Holding Corp., 2006 WL 3313766 (E.D. Mich. Nov. 17, 2006).

Employees of publicly traded companies who believe they have been subjected to retaliation because they engaged in "protected" whistleblower activity may assert a claim under the Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower provision. SOX prohibits employer retaliation against an employee who provides information or assists in an investigation regarding conduct that the employee reasonably believes constitutes a violation of federal laws and regulations relating to fraud against shareholders. 18 U.S.C. § 1514A(a)(1). The burden is on the employee to demonstrate that the protected activity was a contributing factor to the adverse employment action.

Labels: law, whistleblower

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