Whistleblower Retaliation Cases

Although Mr. Snowden's story may make for a better page-turner, the stories of the others ' all plaintiffs in retaliation lawsuits ' are more likely to impact the daily operations of American employers. In 2002, Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) “[t]o protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws, and for other purposes.” Since then, courts have struggled to agree upon who qualifies for whistleblower protection under Section 806 of the Act, 18 U.S.C. ' 1514A, and what the parties' respective burdens of proof are in litigation. Adding to the uncertainty, in 2010, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in the wake of the Great Recession. Among many other provisions, Dodd-Frank beefed up the whistleblower protection provisions of SOX.

In light of Dodd-Frank and the collective anger of a nation reeling from economic turmoil, there has been a burst of whistleblower retaliation lawsuits. Recent notable cases ' including those of Messrs. Bechtel, Wiest and Nassar ' are in some instances defining what it takes to be a successful retaliation plaintiff; in other ways, these cases are merely shaping the battleground for cases yet to come.