SCOTUS Issues Decision With Significant Implications For Future Whistleblower Cases

On February 8, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion in Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, 601 U.S. ___(2024), a case involving a former UBS employee's claim that he was terminated for making an internal report of suspected fraud on shareholders. The plaintiff filed suit against UBS under the whistleblower protection provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. § 1514A(a) ("Whistleblower Protection for Employees of Publicly Traded Companies"), which makes it unlawful for any covered employer to "discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other manner discriminate against an employee in the terms and conditions of employment" based on the employee's participation in protected whistleblowing activities, such as reporting conduct that is reasonably believed to constitute fraud or violation of securities laws. The plaintiff prevailed at trial in the district court and UBS appealed to the Second Circuit.