Two recent rulings from U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Ninth Circuits have made it harder for employers and cooperating prosecutors to use federal criminal laws to intimidate and harass whistleblowers.  Both courts dismissed cases brought by the government against former employees who had been charged with theft of their employers’ proprietary information.  [...]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced yesterday that it has launched a public inquiry into how consumers and financial service companies are affected by arbitrations and mandatory arbitration clauses.  Arbitration is a form of binding, non-judicial dispute resolution. Unbeknownst to many consumers, however, many contracts for consumer financial services products and services contain a [...]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced yesterday that it had settled a whistleblower case with a New Orleans-based riverboat company.  OSHA had filed suit against the company, St. James Stevedoring Partners LLC New Orleans (“SJSP”), for violating the whistleblower protection clause of the Seaman’s Protection Act [...]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of a retaliation claim under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) and ordered the district court to review the settlement of a related qui tam case that the U.S. government had reached with the defendant over the relator’s objection.  According [...]

In a continuation of a story we wrote about in February, the Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday that a Baltimore U.S. District Court Judge has awarded a whistleblower $462,500 in return for a tip that enabled the U.S. Coast Guard to catch and fine two high-volume polluters.  The companies, Efploia Shipping and Aquarosa Shipping, pled guilty [...]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a press release on April 17, 2012, announcing that it had filed a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against LOTO Services, LLC, for the purposes of this case doing business as Aquatech Canvas & Consignment.  Aquatech specializes in the preparation, sale and [...]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released a compliance bulletin yesterday announcing its commitment to cracking down on discriminatory lending.  The agency announced that it intends to use all available legal avenues, including disparate impact lawsuits, to pursue lenders whose practices discriminate against consumers.  The agency further announced that it will attempt to equip consumers [...]

A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss brought by a Michigan-based medical supply firm being sued for retaliation under the False Claims Act (“FCA”).  In the case, U.S. et al v. J&B Medical Supply Co., Inc., J&B is accused of firing three employees who raised concerns about the company overbilling Medicaid.  Established in [...]

While the Corporate Whistleblower Blog typically focuses on breaking news and developments in whistleblower law, we felt obliged to blog about the exciting news that came out of Maryland last week when legislators took a strong stand against employer invasion of privacy.  As Law360 reports, the Maryland legislature unanimously passed a bill a week ago [...]

A former chief marketing officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana (“BCBSMT”) filed a law suit in the U.S. District Court for Montana’s Lewis and Clark County, alleging that she was terminated in retaliation for reporting illegal actions by the company, the Independent Record reported on April 8.  The lawsuit alleges that Shannon Marsden [...]