According to Securities and Exchange Commission Office of the Whistleblower Chief Sean McKessy, the unit will take a more aggressive approach to publicizing its activities and figuring out how to better enforce the anti-retaliation provisions of its bounty program. McKessy spoke at the DC Bar organized enforcement conference earlier this month and noted that his views were his own and not necessarily that of the SEC.
McKessy said that despite the Commission’s efforts to offer whistleblower provisions that incentivize internal reporting, some corporations have still not told employees about the bounty program. Per the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC can now offer 10-30% of a monetary penalty greater than $1 million that is collected because of “original information” voluntarily offered up by an informant.
Also, per the statute, the SEC has the authority to enforce its anti-retaliation provisions, which protects whistleblowers that provide this information, or commit certain other lawful acts, from retaliatory actions—particularly from employers. McKessy, however, noted that it is too soon to know whether the agency will incorporate an anti-retaliation action to its whistleblower program.
He also said that during its second year, the Office of the Whistleblower would continue to work through reward claims. So far, the SEC office has only issued one award to a whistleblower since the program started. It has received over 3,300 quality tips from possible informants.
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Office of the Whistleblower, SEC
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Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protection Amendment Must Be Applied Retroactively, Said District Court, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, July 21, 2012