Ninth Circuit Rules That Dodd-Frank Law Protects Whistleblowers’ Internal Complaints, Deepening Split on Issue Among Federal Courts

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled recently that whistleblower retaliation protections included in the 2010 federal Dodd-Frank financial reform law protect not only employees who report suspected wrongdoing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but also those who merely file internal complaints.

The decision by the Ninth Circuit in Somers v. Digital Realty Trust, No. 15-17352 (9th Cir. Mar. 8, 2017), agrees with a ruling by the Second Circuit, but not one by the Fifth Circuit, thus widening the circuit split on whether Dodd-Frank covers internal complaints and increasing the likelihood that the Supreme Court eventually will have to resolve the issue.

A copy of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Somers v. Digital Realty Trust is available here.

Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.