First Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Decision
In the first ruling applying the whistleblower protections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. ' 1514A, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ordered a bank holding company to rehire its former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), after finding that the company fired the CFO in retaliation for reporting alleged accounting misconduct to the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), outside auditors, and others.
Sarbanes-Oxley 'Creep'
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) responded to well-publicized allegations of securities fraud. Its commandments about financial and internal control certifications, audit committees, auditor independence and the like expressly target publicly traded corporations. Yet much has been written about the "inevitable" spillover of SOX-type obligations onto not-for-profit organizations, especially in the health care sector. As a result, not-for-profit CEOs, compliance officers and counsel have practical questions.
The New SEC-FDA Alliance
On Feb. 5, 2004, the FDA and the SEC announced a new alliance between the two agencies. In a press release describing the changes, the FDA explained that "[u]nder the new referral procedure, any FDA employee who believes a publicly held, FDA-regulated firm has made a false or misleading statement to the investment public concerning a matter within the FDA's authority can initiate a process for referring the matter to the SEC Division of Enforcement."
Features
Disability Dilemmas for Supervisors
As we all know, the ADA prohibits discrimination on account of past, present and perceived physical and emotional disabilities. Generally, the key to avoiding liability is focusing on abilities and not disabilities. That's an easy mantra to articulate, but it can be deceptively complicated for a supervisor to implement.
NLRB Again Limits <i>'Weingarten' </i>Rights
Continuing a seesaw battle that has been ongoing since the early 1980s, the NLRB recently held in a 3-2 decision that non-union employees do not have a right under the National Labor Relations Act to be accompanied by a fellow employee during a meeting that might lead to discipline.
Coordinating Complex Employment Litigation
In the past several years, employment class and collective action lawsuits have caught the attention of employees across the country. Many of these cases have resulted in multi-million dollar settlements or verdicts. Equally troubling, once an industry or corporation is viewed as potentially vulnerable on an issue, copycat cases may be brought in multiple jurisdictions against the same defendant or against others in the same industry.
National Litigation Hotline
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
Recent Developments from Around the States
National cases of importance to your practice.
Features
Spam Costs Double in Last Year
According to a new report from Nucleus Research, "Spam: The ROI Killer," the cost of spam per employee has skyrocketed to $1934 per year.
Features
All Together Now: ISP Group Releases Spam-Fighting Measures
Leading Internet service providers (ISPs) say that the industry needs to work together and take proactive steps to stop the conflagration of unwanted e-mails. <br>The companies ' including leading e-mail providers and ISPs Yahoo!, EarthLink, Microsoft, Comcast and America Online (AOL) ' through the Anti-Spam Technical Alliance (ASTA), are calling on other ISPs to adopt a series of actions and policies that they have developed after a year of collaboration to fight spam.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance ProgramsThe parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.Read More ›
- Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult CoinWith each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.Read More ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.Read More ›
- When It Comes to Trademark Searches, AI Misses the MarkArtificial intelligence tools powered by large language models have become valuable resources in the trademark process. Despite incredible progress in natural-language reasoning, AI tools still face fundamental limitations when it comes to performing even basic trademark searches. Here are five important reasons why.Read More ›
