TELG Principal Quoted in Law360 on Landmark ARB Decision for SOX Whistleblowers

Law360 quoted The Employment Law Group® Principal Jason Zuckerman in an article regarding the U.S. Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board’s en banc decision in Sylvester v. Parexel International on May 25, which clarified the broad scope of protected conduct for Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) whistleblowers.

 Jason Zuckerman, a principal at The Employment Law Group, which represents employees, said the Sylvester decision was in contrast to past ARB rulings that had erected barriers to complainants.

“The current ARB is applying the statute as Congress intended, and in light of the recent financial crisis, it could not be clearer that robust protection of whistleblowers is a crucial bulwark against corporate fraud,” Zuckerman said.

The ARB held that the heightened pleading standards established in federal courts did not apply to SOX claims initiated with OSHA, and that an allegation of shareholder fraud was not a necessary component of protected activity under SOX.  The Sylvester decision will likely lead to more claims surviving initial motions to dismiss or summary judgment than in the past.

Tagged: Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), The Employment Law Group, P.C., Whistleblower Laws (Federal), Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA)