Washington, D.C.
May 19, 2011. Today, the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the Commissioners will meet
on May 25th at 9:30 a.m. EST to vote on its final rules for the
whistleblower provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act. The rules will
directly relate to the new "bounty" provisions in the Securities Exchange Act,
which requires the SEC to pay whistleblower rewards.
The
whistleblower rules have been among the most controversial in the Dodd-Frank
Act. The Chamber
of Commerce and other corporate lobbyists aggressively campaigned to
water down whistleblower rights.
The National
Whistleblowers Center (NWC) has also been heavily involved with the
rulemaking
process, trying to ensure that the final rules adequately protect
whistleblowers. The NWC Executive
Director and legal staff have met personally with each Commissioner in
order to
explain the detailed public comments and to rebut arguments raised by
the
Chamber.
Stephen Kohn,
NWC Executive Director, issued the following statement:
We
will carefully review the Commission's final rules. We hope that
whistleblowers will be fully protected and that
we will not have to file a judicial challenge to the rules under the
Administrative Procedure Act.
The
whistleblower provisions will have a major impact on the enforcement and
interpretation of the Securities Exchange Act and the Foreign Corrupt
Practices
Acts. These rules will set forth
parameters regarding whistleblower rights in publicly traded companies.
The Commission's
meeting on Wednesday, May 25th at 9:30 a.m. EST, is open to
the
public and can also be viewed on a webcast at the SEC's website.
Links:
CNBC
Series
"Bounty Hunters"
Wall
Street
Journal "Whistleblower
Group Issues Report Saying Cash Incentive Doesn't Drive
Informants to Authorities"
Washington
Post
"SEC
Names Sean McKessy to Head New Whistleblower
Office"
New
York
Times "For
Whistle-Blowers, Expanded Incentives"
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