Whistleblowers are a fact of life in the financial services and banking industries. Recent public, legislative, and regulatory developments illustrate why whistleblower activity is likely to become even more significant in the future, and the critical importance of responding appropriately to employees who “blow the whistle” on their employers. Those developments include:
- On May 19, the New York Times “Deal Book” column revealed that, in a poll of financial professionals, approximately one-third of the respondents said that they “have witnessed or have firsthand knowledge of wrongdoing in the workplace,” and 20 percent believed that financial service professionals “must sometimes engage in unethical or illegal activity to be successful…”
- In May, the New York Attorney General introduced a bill which, if enacted by the New York legislature, would create a state program for the reward and protection of whistleblowers analogous to the SEC’s program.
- The SEC has been active in the last year defining its own program and practices that are acceptable for financial institutions dealing with whistleblowers.
- In March, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued its final rule for handling retaliation complaints brought by whistleblowers under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Topics
- The new proposed New York whistleblower statute
- Recent SEC activity in this area
- The CFPB whistleblower program
- OSHA’s rules on whistleblowers
Program
Thursday, June 11, 2015
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET
Moderator
Alan S. Kaplinsky, Practice Leader
Consumer Financial Services Group
Presenters
Julian W. Friedman
Securities Enforcement and Litigation Group
Denise M. Keyser
Labor and Employment Group
Christopher J. Willis
Consumer Financial Services Group
This program is open to Ballard Spahr clients and members of the financial services industry. There is no cost to attend. This program is not eligible for continuing education credits.
Please register at least two days before the webinar. Login details will be sent to all approved registrants. For more information, contact Lisa M. Prickril at prickrill@ballardspahr.com.
