Whistleblower Claims Under SOX And Dodd-Frank: Recent Developments

Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ("SOX") and Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank") both extend whistleblower protection to certain individuals who report conduct they reasonably believe constitutes federal mail, wire or bank fraud or a violation of any rule or regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") or any provision of federal law relating to shareholder fraud. Dodd-Frank also required the SEC to implement a new whistleblower program — the so-called bounty program — that pays awards to whistleblowers who provide the SEC with information about violations of securities laws that leads to a successful enforcement action resulting in monetary sanctions in excess of $1 million.