A defense contractor accused of using restrictive severance agreements that would “chill” whistleblowers has agreed to settle the accusations and pay $265,000 in penalties, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced. The announcement marks the latest victory in the federal government’s ongoing campaign to encourage and reward whistleblowers, including employees who uncover fraud, waste and abuse in their workplaces. It’s also a sign that federal regulators’ crackdown on companies that use … [Read more...]
Feds take strong action to protect whistleblowers from overzealous confidentiality agreements
Many companies require their employees to sign confidentiality agreements that prohibit the employees from disclosing non-public information about the company to outsiders. In general, these confidentiality agreements aim to protect a company’s proprietary information that gives it an advantage over its competitors; things like trade secrets, inventions, customer lists and strategic plans. Recently, however, a growing number of companies have included language in their confidentiality … [Read more...]
Sixteen Attorneys General Stand Up Against Mandatory Arbitration
Including California, have asked the federal government to protect consumers from mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts covering financial services. The group co-signed a letter to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) last month. These clauses are written into contracts by financial services companies for a wide range of financial products including credit cards, payday loans and checking account agreements.These clauses forbid consumers from taking disputes to court and/or … [Read more...]
CFPB Launches Study Into Mandatory Arbitration, Bringing Discussion To Congress
The growing use of mandatory arbitration has become a hot topic among businesses and consumers, which has led the debate all the way to Congress, with billions of dollars potentially at stake. Like many issues brought to Congress, a government agency has been given the task to study arbitration, causing both financial institutions and consumer groups to lobby to influence the study's design, reports the American Banker.The study is expected to widely influence implementation of the Dodd-Frank … [Read more...]