The SEC's Proposed Whistleblower Rules for Dodd-Frank

On November 3, 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC" or the "Commission") issued proposed rules to implement the new whistleblower provisions of the recently-enacted Dodd-Frank Act. Please click here to read our previous client alert on this topic, Blowing the Whistle on the New Whistleblower Protections Created by the Dodd-Frank Act, published on August 16, 2010. Under the newly-created Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), qualified whistleblowers are entitled to substantial financial rewards for reporting "original information" to the SEC, that leads to a successful enforcement action for a violation of the federal securities law, and that results in a recovery of more than $1 million in penalties.²;Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees for making such a report.