Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower lawyers Archives

Does the Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower protection law authorize emotional distress damages?

The Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower law authorizes noneconomic compensatory damages, i.e., emotional distress and reputational harm. There is no cap on special damages under SOX, and some whistleblowers have obtained more than one million dollars in special damages at trial

What is a whistleblower’s burden to prove retaliation under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?

To prevail, a SOX whistleblower must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that:

they engaged in protected activity (they made a protected disclosure under Section 806);
the employer knew that they engaged in the protected activity;
they suffered an unfavorable personnel action;
the protected activity was a contributing factor in the unfavorable action.

What whistleblowing disclosures are protected under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?

What is Sarbanes-Oxley protected conduct? Whistleblowers are protected under SOX for providing information, causing information to be provided, or otherwise assisting in an investigation … Continued

Why did Congress enact the whistleblower protection provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?

Purpose of SOX Whistleblower Protection Law When Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002, it included a whistleblower protection provision to combat a … Continued

Does the Sarbanes-Oxley Act protect whistleblowing about potential violations of federal securities laws?

A SOX retaliation plaintiff need not demonstrate that they disclosed an actual violation of securities law; only that they reasonably believed that their employer was defrauding shareholders or violating an SEC rule. Indeed, a reasonable but mistaken belief is protected under SOX. “To demonstrate that a plaintiff engaged in a protected activity, a plaintiff must show that [s]he had both a subjective belief and an objectively reasonable belief that the conduct [s]he complained of constituted a violation of relevant law.”

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