On September 9, 2024, the SEC announced settled charges against seven companies for attempting to limit whistleblower rights through provisions in employment, separation and other agreements.  As you can read in the SEC’s Press Release and the related Orders, one  company tried to force employees to waive their right to whistleblower awards such as those the SEC pays to qualified whistleblowers.

This case is the latest in a litany of recent enforcement actions, including against J.P. Morgan for attempting to limit customers’ ability to blow the whistle and against D.E. Shaw and Co. L.P., Monolith Resources. and CBRE, Inc. for using employee agreements that violated whistleblower protection rules.

All these cases and the related civil penalties send direct and clear reminders to proactively review employment, termination and similar agreements to assure they do not run afoul of the whistleblower protection rules.

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome!