The article in the url below summarizes a report by the Government Accountability Project (“an advocacy group that provides legal advice to whistleblowers,” http://www.whistleblower.org/) that criticizes the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) legislation for failing to protect corporate whistleblowers (Issues: Corporate Governance—Reporting, p108). In particular, the report highlights the very narrow interpretation of the legislation, which is leading courts to favor companies over individuals:
“Many cases against defendant companies have been dismissed on the grounds that employees who worked for a corporate subsidiary are not necessarily covered by the whistleblower provision, according to Richard Moberly, a University of Nebraska law professor. "The provision is supposed to be interpreted broadly but it is being interpreted very narrowly," he says.”
In spite of the fact that the protection of whistleblowers was one of the central reasons for passing the legislation, the results of 1,273 complaints that have been filed under SOX indicate that the odds are still stacked in favor of large corporations:
“According to data from the Department of Labor, it has ruled in favour of whistleblowers 17 times in the 1,273 complaints filed from 2002 to the start of this month. Meanwhile, 841 cases were dismissed, 162 were withdrawn and 107 are pending.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
US legislation 'fails' to help corporate whistleblowers achieve justice
By Joanna Chung in New York
409 words
10 September 2008
Financial Times
USA Ed2
04
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f7ba2db6-7ecf-11dd-b1af-000077b07658.html
