SEC Rule 21F-17 Protecting Employee Whistleblowers: Increased Enforcement Targeting Public and Private Employers
Lessons Learned From Recent Settlements; Noncompliant Language Resulting in Record CMPs; Best Practices to Mitigate Risk
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE webinar will examine the SEC's increased enforcement of Rule 21F-17, its whistleblower protection rule, against public and private employers where the agency has found that certain language in employment and separation agreements and company policies impedes employees from reporting possible securities law violations to the SEC. The panel will examine recent noteworthy employer settlements and discuss what can be learned by counsel and their clients when drafting employment agreements and policy language to mitigate risk and costly CMPs under increased SEC scrutiny.
Outline
- Overview of SEC Rule 21F-17
- Purpose
- Covered entities
- Application to employers
- Penalties
- Recent Rule 21F-17 enforcement activity against public and private employers
- Monolith Resources L.L.C.
- D.E. Shaw & Co. LP
- CBRE Inc.
- Best practices for compliance and to mitigate penalty risk
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- How does Rule 21F-17 apply to employers?
- What actions taken by the SEC indicate it is focusing on both public and private employers?
- How do recent settlements demonstrate the types of employer activity subject to heightened SEC scrutiny and the imposition of costly penalties?
- What language in policies and agreements should counsel and their employer clients avoid to mitigate risk of costly CMPs in case of an SEC investigation?
- What actions can employers take that may lessen the amount of penalties imposed?
Faculty
Sheri P. Adler
Partner
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders
Ms. Adler advises boards, compensation committees, and companies on executive and director compensation matters. She is... | Read More
Ms. Adler advises boards, compensation committees, and companies on executive and director compensation matters. She is particularly experienced in working with public companies, guiding her clients at the intersection of complex securities, disclosure, tax, and governance frameworks. Ms. Adler provides extensive support to public companies each year in connection with their proxy statements for annual shareholder meetings and helps them navigate a constantly evolving disclosure landscape. She serves as a co-founder of the Executive Compensation and Securities Subgroup, an internal group that fosters cross-collaboration between intersecting practice groups within the firm.
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Margaret H. Campbell
Shareholder, Co-Chair Ethics Compliance and Whistleblower Response Practice Group
Ogletree Deakins
Ms. Campbell is particularly recognized for her expertise and experience in whistleblower investigations and litigation... | Read More
Ms. Campbell is particularly recognized for her expertise and experience in whistleblower investigations and litigation including Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank cases, complex class and collective action litigation, appellate practice, and restrictive covenant law. She has litigated single plaintiff, multi-plaintiff, and class and collective action jury and non-jury cases in federal and state courts around the country. Clients regularly seek her client-centered practical advice and innovative solutions for preventing and mitigating risk events arising in the workplace. In addition, Ms. Campbell assists clients in sensitive and complex investigations of alleged improper conduct by high-level executives and Board members. She has published numerous articles on labor and employment subjects, and has spoken to the ABA Annual Meetings, U.S. Chamber and other business groups, and at bar association and client seminars on labor and employment law issues. Ms. Campbell was inducted as a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers in 2004, and has served on the College’s Credentials Committee for the Eleventh Circuit, including as its Chair.
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Kevin E. Griffith
Shareholder, Co-Chair Whistleblowing, Compliance and Investigations Practice Group
Littler Mendelson
Mr. Griffith practices primarily in the areas of whistleblower law, business competition litigation, and... | Read More
Mr. Griffith practices primarily in the areas of whistleblower law, business competition litigation, and employment litigation. He has extensive litigation experience in cases involving whistleblower retaliation, corporate raiding, enforcing or defending covenants-not-to-compete, trade secrets and employment contracts, and interference with contract claims. Mr. Griffith has assisted employers defend against hundreds of employment discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, and wrongful termination cases. In addition, he counsels corporate clients concerning internal investigations, assists with drafting their codes of conduct, employment agreements and arbitration agreements, and provides advice and counsel regarding executive officer terminations, protecting business information, mass layoffs, and compliance with federal and state employment
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