On May 23, 2019, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a ruling in Roberts v. Board of Trustees of Community College District No. 508, reaffirming the pleading standards for both common law retaliatory discharge and “refusal-to-participate” claims the Illinois Whistleblower Act (“IWA”) (740 ILCS § 174/1). Background.  In 2015, Plaintiff was employed as Director of Medical Programs at Malcolm X Community College in Chicago (College).  He was responsible for ensuring professors were qualified and certain…

On May 8, 2019, the House Committee on Financial Services passed H.R. 2515, the Whistleblower Protection Reform Act of 2019, which would amend Section 922 of Dodd-Frank to extend the statute’s anti-retaliation protections to employees who report alleged misconduct internally. Digital Realty Trust v. Somers H.R. 2515 was proposed in direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding last year in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers, 138 S. Ct. 767 (2018).  As detailed in …

On May 24, 2019, the SEC announced payment of more than $4.5 million to a whistleblower who sent an anonymous tip to the company alleging significant wrongdoing and then submitted the same information to the SEC.  (The order granting the award can be accessed here.) In connection with this award, Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, said, “[i]n this case, the whistleblower was credited with the results of the company’s…

This is an update on our previous blog posts regarding the Erhart v. BofI Holding, Inc. case. We previously reported in October 2017 and March 2017 on a whistleblower litigation brought by Charles Erhart, a former Bank of Internet Holding, Inc. (Bofl) internal auditor.  In late 2018, the parties filed cross-motions for judgement on the pleadings, including but not limited to Erhart’s SOX retaliation claim.  Bofl specifically alleged that Erhart failed to exhaust his administrative…

On April 29, 2019, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto introduced Assembly Bill A7384, which would amend and significantly expand New York’s whistleblower statute, N.Y.L.L. §§ 740, 741.  The identical Senate version of this bill, Senate Bill S3683, was introduced by Senator Brad Hoylman on February 12, 2019.  The proposed amendments aim to bolster whistleblower protections for employees who disclose information about “illegal business activities” and could expose employers to significant additional liability. The Current Whistleblower…

In an unusual and eye-catching case, a hospital facing a whistleblower lawsuit from a former senior executive under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) has brought suit against that individual, alleging he breached his fiduciary duty by failing to report the unlawful conduct internally and instead using that information as the basis for a whistleblower claim.  Wheeling Hospital, Inc. v. Louis Longo, No. 19-cv-000032 (N.D. W. Va. Mar.13, 2019). The Whistleblower’s Complaint Longo, an accountant and…

On April 2, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama denied a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, finding genuine issues of material fact existed as to the basis for Plaintiff’s discharge, whether his complaint qualified as protected activity, and whether he had a reasonable belief that the complained-of activity was unlawful.  Shea v. Kohl’s Dept. Stores, Inc., No. 16-cv-01155. Background Defendant, a retailer, employed…