Allison Herren Lee, Of Counsel at Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto and a former Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is calling for the passage of the SEC Whistleblower Reform Act of 2023. Today, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance published an article by Lee entitled “The Bipartisan SEC Whistleblower Reform Bill: Building on Success.”
Lee writes that the bipartisan SEC Whistleblower Reform Act, introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on March 15, makes important improvements to the SEC's hugely successful whistleblower program. Established in 2010, the program has garnered over $6.3 billion in sanctions and awarded over $1.5 billion to whistleblowers.
“If passed, this legislation will help ensure that the SEC Whistleblower Program remains an indispensable tool in the Commission's efforts to police wrongdoing and protect investors,” Lee writes.
In the article, Lee highlights two of the bill's key provisions. Most notably, the bill extends whistleblower protections to corporate whistleblowers who report potential securities violations internally but not externally to the SEC. Furthermore, the bill codifies an SEC rule banning restrictive non-disclosure agreements.
“The SEC Whistleblower Reform Act reflects a bipartisan consensus that a strong whistleblower program benefits investors, companies and the public,” writes Lee in conclusion. “The program has helped uncover -- and remediate – serious and costly...
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