A recent decision from the 9th Circuit has served to widen the circuit split over whether Dodd-Frank’s anti-retaliation protections should protect internal whistleblowers. In early March, a split 9th Circuit panel found in favor of extending Dodd-Frank’s anti-retaliation protections to…
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Dodd-Frank Act, Retaliation, Whistleblower, Whistleblower protection
It appears that the Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) Whistleblower Office is finally opening up to the idea of whistleblowers. According to an annual IRS report to Congress, the IRS Whistleblower Office paid out $103 million to whistleblowers in 2015, which…
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IRS, Tax Fraud, Whistleblower award, Whistleblower protection
As health care enrollments under the Affordable Care Act increase each year, the potential for healthcare waste, fraud and abuse has also increased. To deter heathcare fraud, the government has whistleblower laws to protect individuals who reveal wrongdoing, especially within…
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False Claims Act, Medicaid, medical fraud, Medicare, Qui Tam, Whistleblower, whistleblower attorney, Whistleblower protection
A whistleblower formerly employed by the Colorado prison system will be paid $280,000 to settle her complaint that the state tried to punish and silence her for her whistleblowing activities. Maureen O’Keefe, the former director of Colorado Department of Corrections’…
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Whistleblower, Whistleblower award, Whistleblower protection, workplace retaliation
A Tennessee court highlighted the split amongst circuit courts regarding the Dodd-Frank Act and its protections for whistleblowers. On December 8, 2015, the Eastern District of Tennessee dismissed John S. Verble’s whistleblower claims, finding that Verble was not entitled to…
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A whistleblower’s surreptitious tape recording constitutes a “protected activity” under the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (“ERA”), under certain circumstances. That was the ruling of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) on September 28, 2015 after reviewing…
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tape recording, whistleblower evidence, Whistleblower protection, workplace retaliation
The latest report from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed emerging trends in whistleblower activity and anti-retaliation law in 2015.