As federal agencies dole out record-breaking awards to tipsters (such as the SEC’s recent $30 million award), whistleblower programs remain a topic of public interest.  Earlier this month, The New York Times published an article about the growth of the whistleblower programs operated by the S.E.C., Justice Department, and I.R.S, which financially incentivize the reporting of misconduct.

The Times article notes that the Justice Department reported a record-high recovery in civil fraud cases under the False Claims Act in its last fiscal year and that the S.E.C.’s Office of the Whistleblower continues to thrive.  The article also discusses the uptick in the number of tips that the S.E.C. received in its past fiscal year, a topic we covered in a post about the agency’s 2014 Annual Report.  Given the vitality of the government’s current whistleblower programs, the article suggests that congressional support for similar programs is growing. As a result, new and expanded whistleblower reward programs may be looming on the horizon.

Photo of Lloyd B. Chinn Lloyd B. Chinn

Lloyd B. Chinn is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group. He litigates employment disputes of all types before federal and state courts, arbitration tribunals (e.g., FINRA, JAMS and AAA), and before administrative…

Lloyd B. Chinn is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group. He litigates employment disputes of all types before federal and state courts, arbitration tribunals (e.g., FINRA, JAMS and AAA), and before administrative agencies in New York and across the country. Lloyd’s practice ranges from litigating compensation disputes to defending whistleblower, discrimination and sexual harassment claims. Although he represents employers in a wide range of industries, including law, insurance, health care, consulting, media, education and technology, he focuses a substantial portion of his practice on the financial services sector. He has tried to final verdict or arbitration award substantial disputes in this area.

Due to Lloyd’s litigation experience, clients regularly turn to him for advice regarding the full range of employment matters, including terminations, whistleblower policy and procedure, reductions in force, employment agreements, and employment policies. For example, in the wake of the financial crisis, he has counseled a number of firms through reductions in force and related bonus and deferred compensation disputes. Lloyd has also been retained to conduct internal investigations of allegations of workplace misconduct, including claims leveled against senior executives.

Lloyd has represented global businesses in matters involving Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank whistleblower claims. He has taken an active role in the American Bar Association on these issues, currently serving as Co-Chair of the Whistleblower subcommittee of the ABA Employee Rights and Responsibilities Committee. Lloyd has spoken on whistleblowing topics before a numerous organizations, including the American Bar Association, ALI-ABA, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and New York University School of Law. He has testified twice before Congressional subcommittees regarding whistleblower legislation and has also published blog postings, articles and client alerts on a variety of topics in this area, including the Dodd-Frank Act’s whistleblower provisions. Lloyd is a co-editor of Proskauer’s Whistleblower Defense Blog, and he has been widely quoted by on whistleblower topics by a number of publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the National Law Journal and Law 360.

Lloyd has also become active in the International Bar Association, presenting on a variety of subjects, including: the #MeToo movement, the COVID-19 pandemic and employment law, and cross-border harmonization of employment provisions in transactions. Lloyd also hosts a quarterly roundtable discussion among financial services industry in-house employment lawyers. He has also published articles and given speeches on a variety of other employment-law topics, including non-solicitation provisions, FINRA arbitration rules, cross-border discovery, e-discovery, and the use of experts.

Photo of Allison Martin Allison Martin

Allison Martin is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. Allison represents employers in a wide range of employment litigation matters, including employment discrimination and harassment lawsuits arising under Title VII and similar state and local statutes, retaliation claims, and…

Allison Martin is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. Allison represents employers in a wide range of employment litigation matters, including employment discrimination and harassment lawsuits arising under Title VII and similar state and local statutes, retaliation claims, and wage-and-hour claims. She represents employers in federal and state courts, arbitration tribunals, and before the EEOC and the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Allison has extensive experience litigating both single plaintiff and class action lawsuits.

Allison also counsels clients on a broad range of employment law matters, including investigations, employment policies and procedures, and employee terminations and discipline. She also has experience conducting high-profile internal investigations on behalf of employers.

Allison previously served as a federal law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

At Seton Hall University School of Law, Allison was an Articles Editor for the Seton Hall Law Review. Allison also  interned for Chief Judge Garrett E. Brown (Ret.) of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey while in law school.