Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Dodd-Frank’s Whistleblower Protections
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Key takeaways
- The Supreme Court ruled this week that Dodd-Frank’s anti-retaliation provision only protects individuals who report a violation of the federal securities laws to the SEC.
- Since whistleblowers who have only reported internally cannot bring Dodd-Frank retaliation claims, the decision should reduce the number of claims brought by employees claiming whistleblower status only after they have been disciplined or terminated.
- At the same time, the decision could potentially lead whistleblowers concerned about retaliation to report to the SEC at the same time that they raise concerns internally, or bypass internal reporting procedures and report directly to the SEC.