A trio of recent enforcement actions emphasize that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to scrutinize companies’ agreements with employees for restrictive language that could potentially prevent or discourage whistleblowers from contacting the SEC and, in doing so, violate the SEC’s Rule 21F-17(a).

From almost any measure, the SEC’s Whistleblower Program has been incredibly successful.  In its fiscal year 2022, the SEC received over 12,000 whistleblower tips.  Since its inception in 2011, the program has awarded over $1.3 billion to whistleblowers, with the single largest award—$279 million—occurring in May 2023.