Law 360: Feds Backs Ex-UBS Worker in High Court Whistleblower Case
This article features Government Accountability Project Legal Director Tom Devine, and was originally published here.
Law360 (July 7, 2023, 9:44 PM EDT) — A former UBS employee’s whistleblower suit, which was taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, has garnered formal support from the U.S. government and various advocacy groups, which have filed amicus briefs to help the ex-employee to reverse a Second Circuit decision voiding a nearly $1 million retaliation award.
The federal government — represented by officials from the Solicitor General’s Office, the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission — argued in a Wednesday brief that the Second Circuit was wrong to hold that petitioner Trevor Murray needed to prove retaliatory intent on UBS’ part for his whistleblower claims to stand.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 doesn’t include that requirement, the U.S. argued, adding that the justices should consider the decisions of the DOL’s Administrative Review Board, which only require proof that a whistleblower’s protected activity contributed to an adverse action — in this case, Murray’s eventual firing.
“That interpretation is reasonable, and it is entitled to deference,” the U.S. argued.
Murray has made similar arguments, saying the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or SOX, required him to show that his whistleblowing was a contributing factor in the “unfavorable personnel action” against him. If he did that,...
A man waits to enter the Safeworks supervised consumption site at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre in Calgary in this August 2021 file photo. The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions is bru...