Clifford Chance

Ninth Circuit Holds that Internal Whistleblowers Are Protected from Retaliation

15 March 2017

On March 8, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ("Ninth Circuit") held that individuals who make internal disclosures of potential securities law violations – like those who report wrongdoing directly to the Securities Exchange Commission ("SEC") – are protected as "whistleblowers" under the Dodd Frank Act ("DFA"). This decision, which follows the 2015 decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ("Second Circuit") in Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy LLC, reinforces the need for companies to ensure that internal whistleblowers are adequately protected from retaliation.

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