SEC Issues Interpretive Rule Regarding Definition Of Dodd-Frank "Whistleblower"

In response to the disagreement amongst courts regarding the scope of Dodd-Frank's employment retaliation protections, on August 4, 2015, the SEC issued an "interpretive rule" clarifying that individuals who have not reported alleged misconduct to the SEC may nevertheless qualify as "whistleblowers."

Section 922 of Dodd-Frank amended the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to (i) establish a whistleblower bounty program administered by the SEC and (ii) prohibit retaliation by employers against whistleblowers. Since Dodd-Frank's passage, courts have grappled with the scope of the definition of "whistleblower" under the anti-retaliation provision because the statute, on the one hand, prohibits retaliation against individuals who make "disclosures that are required or protected under" Sarbanes-Oxley, the Exchange Act, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1513(e), and "any other law, rule or regulation subject to the jurisdiction of the [SEC]," but, on the other hand, defines "whistleblower" as