New York’s New Law Targets Discipline and Retaliation for Lawful Absences
On November 21, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed S1958A/A8092B into law, which bars...
Retaliation Law
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Labor Law Amendment Grows and Extends Whistleblower Protections for New York Workers
Great news for workers in the State of New York: Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed into law an amendment to the New York Labor Law that dramatically expands safeguards against and remedies for employers’ whistleblower retaliation. Historically, New York has “not recognize[d] the tort of wrongful discharge,”[1] including “for firings that violate public policy such as . . . discharge for…
Threatening Employees Based on Their Immigration Status Can Constitute Unlawful Retaliation Under Wage and Hour Laws
When an employee complains about an employer’s violation of wage and hour laws, anti-retaliation protections often kick in to protect the employee from being punished for complaining. Obvious examples of retaliation include firing or demoting the employee who complains. However, an employer’s retaliatory actions may also extend beyond the workplace. In some cases, the employer may try to use the…
Section 806 of Sarbanes-Oxley: Protecting Those Who Complain of Fraud at Work
In the wake of the Enron and Arthur Anderson scandals, Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) to address “a culture, supported by law, that discourage[s] employees from reporting fraudulent behavior not only to the proper authorities, such as the FBI and the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission], but even internally.” S. Rep. No. 107–146, at 4–5 (2002).Section 806 of…
Banning Bans on Competition: DC Passes Sweeping Prohibition on Non-Compete Agreements in the District
This blog was co-authored by Leigh Anne St. Charles and Kaitlin Leary. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently signed into law a new Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 for the District of Columbia. The new law, which will go into effect following a 30-day congressional review period, offers sweeping and unprecedented employee protection from restrictive workplace policies designed to prevent employees…
Victim of a Biased HR Investigation? You’ve Got Rights!
The “Human Resources” or “HR” department of an organization typically performs various employee management functions, such as overseeing compliance with labor law and employment standards, administration of employee benefits, organizing employee files with documents for future reference, recruitment, and employee onboarding and offboarding. At their best, HR departments provide critical support to both employers and employees and facilitate a mutually…
Compliance Officers May Receive Awards for Submitting Whistleblower Complaints to the SEC or CFTC
The SEC recently made a notable decision to provide an award to a whistleblower who had compliance-related responsibilities at the company where the whistleblower worked. The award of $450,000 was the SEC’s third whistleblower award to an individual who had compliance or internal audit responsibilities, according to the SEC’s press release. The SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs, which were established by…
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Sarbanes-Oxley: Private or Public?
Since its enactment in 2002, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) has left a large, albeit often controversial, footprint in the world of corporate internal controls. As the compliance world has adjusted to the post-SOX era, businesses and courts have observed a growing need to address the current and future SOX requirements of private companies. This has had particular significance with regards to SOX’s…
The False Claims Act Protects Whistleblowers From Retaliation
The qui tam provision of the False Claims Act allows private whistleblowers, known as relators, to file suit on behalf of the United States for fraud perpetrated against the federal government. There is certainly an upside to being a whistleblower because, under the False Claims Act, the whistleblower receives a percentage of any recovery that the government gets. But what are the…