Whistleblower Developments is a periodic report covering significant cases, decisions, proposals, and legislation related to whistleblower statutes and how they may impact your business.
On June 22, 2022, the SEC announced a settlement with The Brink’s Company (Brinks) concerning alleged violations of Exchange Act Rule 21F-17. Rule 21F-17 prohibits any person from impeding an individual’s communication with the SEC about a possible securities law violation, including by way of a confidentiality agreement. From 2015 to 2019, Brinks required new employees to sign confidentiality agreements (and certain other agreements) that prohibited employees from disclosing the company’s confidential information to third parties without prior authorization and contained no exemption for would-be whistleblowers.
The SEC’s order notes that in April 2015, the SEC brought its first enforcement action for violation of Rule 21F-17 based on a company’s use of a restrictive confidentiality agreement. Thereafter, Brinks’ legal departments received law firm client bulletins, alerts, and other notices regarding this and other, similar enforcement actions. Despite these notices, Brinks revised the confidentiality agreement to impose a $75,000 liquidated damages clause (plus attorney’s fees and costs) on employees who violated the agreement. In 2017, Brinks added a whistleblower carve-out for executives in corporate-level...
Rep. Eric Swalwell on Friday forcefully denied allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, saying in a public statement and a video posted to social media that the claims are false and politicall...