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The Scope of the Dodd-Frank's Whistleblower Protection
As part of its comprehensive reform of the U.S. financial regulatory system, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 enhanced and expanded pre-existing protections and bounty incentives to encourage whistleblowing, including those contained in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). It did so by amending the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) to add a new provision, § 21F, titled “Securities Whistleblower Incentives and Protection.” This new section, however, left open a fundamental question that has engendered significant dispute: Is a corporate employee who reports an employer's possible violation of the securities laws to a supervisor or internal compliance officer — but not to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — considered a “whistleblower” entitled to protection from retaliation under Dodd-Frank?
Courts that have considered this question have reached differing conclusions. Notably, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Second and Fifth Circuits have split on this issue. Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit, in Somers v. Digital Realty Trust, 850 F.3d 1045 (9th Cir. 2017), joined the Second Circuit in concluding that the protection from employment retaliation afforded by § 21F covers employees who report a suspected violation of the securities laws internally — not only those who report to the SEC.
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How AI Has Affected PR
When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.