The standard for evaluating a whistleblower’s state of mind when making a complaint under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has been clarified by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
The circuit said it was abrogating the standard on whistleblower retaliation claims it had previously applied in a non-precedential order, making clear that someone who reports a violation must only “reasonably believe” that an entity is violating certain enumerated federal statutes, rules or regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission or, in the words of Sarbanes-Oxley, “any provision of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders ” 18 U.S.C.§1514A(a)(1).
