We recently reported on a proposed rulemaking by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that in the words of the SEC Chair will “help ensure that whistleblowers are both incentivized and appropriately rewarded.” As we noted in that memo, the SEC is proposing these changes despite a 76% increase in the number of whistleblower tips and $564 million in bounty hunter awards the agency paid out in fiscal year (FY) 2021, more than the total amount of bounty awards handed out by the SEC in all previous years.
In addition to the SEC, three other federal agencies with jurisdiction over retaliation complaints filed by corporate whistleblowers or administering “bounty hunter” programs have released enforcement numbers for FY 2021 that show less dramatic results.
This memorandum summarizes the whistleblower statistical reports for FY 2021 issued respectively by the Labor Department’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the SEC, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.