Nicolas Morgan, Thomas A. Zaccaro and Brian Kaewert of Paul Hastings.
On Feb. 22, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that significantly restricts the rights of whistleblowers, but ultimately may cause headaches for the targets of their whistleblower complaints. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act defines a “whistleblower” to be someone who provides information concerning potential securities law violations to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC and some federal courts took a broader view and interpreted the Dodd-Frank whistleblower definition to include those employees who report their complaints internally to their employer but not to the SEC. In Digital Realty Trust v. Somers, 583 U.S ____ (2018), issued on Feb. 22, the court disagreed and ruled that a whistleblower must report suspected securities violations to the SEC to be protected by Dodd-Frank. This decision likely will change how whistleblowers report their complaints and how companies respond to them.
The Digital Realty Decision
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