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...]
National Whistleblower Protection Day Marks 238 Years of Supporting Those Who Expose Government Misconduct
July 30 was “Whistleblower Appreciation Day” in the United States Senate. This is the fourth consecutive year that the Senate has passed a resolution recognizing the date and expressing support for whistleblowers—courageous government and private-sector workers and contractors who risk their livelihoods and reputations to expose corruption, graft and misconduct within their organizations. This date is no accident. The American tradition of supporting whistleblowers dates back 238 years to July … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Strikes Blow in Favor of Whistleblowers
In May, we wrote about how U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death might impact a key whistleblower case brought under the False Claims Act. It turns out that Justice Scalia’s presence might not have made much of a difference: The eight remaining Justices came through with a significant—and unanimous—victory for whistleblower plaintiffs, and delivered a strong rebuke to government contractors that would defraud taxpayers through misleading omissions and then evade responsibility by … [Read more...]
New York Scored Major Victory Under The Tax Fraud Provision of Its False Claims Act
The New York Court of Appeals handed the state’s Attorney General a big victory in 2015 in a case involving tax fraud under the state’s False Claims Act. New York’s highest court ruled that the Attorney General may proceed with a lawsuit against Sprint for knowingly defying a state tax law that requires telecom companies to collect sales tax on the entirety of flat-rate contracts with its mobile customers. The lawsuit alleges that Sprint initially complied with the law, which was enacted in … [Read more...]
What Justice Scalia’s Death Means for the False Claims Act
With Justice Antonin Scalia’s death on February 13, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court will continue to hear and decide cases with only eight justices. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has said that the Senate will neither hold hearings nor vote on a replacement for Justice Scalia until after President Obama leaves office on January 20, 2017. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have echoed McConnell’s position. The Supreme Court can function with only eight justices. As … [Read more...]