Employment lawyers know that juries can issue substantial awards in whistleblower, discrimination, harassment and other retaliation cases—particularly when these cases are brought under state or local statutes that, unlike Title VII or the ADEA, impose no caps on damages.

But juries and courts are not the only entities that can impose penalties on companies for inappropriate employment practices. Government entities that regulate the financial services industry have authority to issue substantial penalties, which may even include shutting down the company’s business, whether temporarily or otherwise.