Alert
Employees Cannot Begin To Take The Crucial Steps To Protect Their Careers Without Acknowledging Their Whistleblower Status
In February 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Digital Realty Trust v. Somers that corporate whistleblowers are not protected under the Dodd-Frank Act if they report only to internal compliance programs. The Court held that a whistleblower must report to the Securities and Exchange Commission to obtain anti-retaliation protections. Although this ruling only concerns the Dodd-Frank Act, its interpretation of this provision could apply to other whistleblower laws that don’t explicitly protect internal whistleblowers. This includes OSHA whistleblower laws, banking whistleblower laws, and most environmental whistleblower laws.
- Phillips v. Interior Board, 500 F.2d 772 (D.C. Cir. 1974) (landmark case explaining why internal whistleblowing must be protected)
- Mackowiak v. University Nuclear Systems, 735 F.2d 1159 (9th Cir. 1984) (following Phillips and protecting internal whistleblowers
under nuclear safety law) - Brown & Root v. Donovan, 747 F.2d 1029 (5th Cir. 1984) (first court to reject Phillips)
- Kansas Gas & Electric v. Brock, 780 F.2d 1505 (10th Cir. 1985) (nuclear safety) (affirming Phillips)
- Passaic Valley v. DOL, 992 F.2d 474 (3rd Cir. 1993) (Clean Air Act) (affirming Phillips)
- Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006) (First Amendment)
- Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy LLC, 801 F.3d 145 (2nd Cir. 2015) (explaining dispute in courts over scope of protected activity under the Dodd-
Frank Act)
- Supreme Court opinion: Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers (No. 16-1276);
- Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers (No. 16-1276) – oral argument transcript;
- Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers (No. 16-1276) – oral argument audio;
- Somers v. Digital Realty Trust (9th Cir. 2015) SEC’s Amicus brief;
- Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers (No. 16-1276) National Whistleblower Center Amicus brief;
- Decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed by the Supreme Court
- Brief of Senator Charles Grassley
- Brief of Paul Somers
- Brief of Chamber of Commerce
- Brief of Digital Realty
- Digital Realty’s Victory Is A Loss For Corporate Compliance
- NWC Director Explains Why Supreme Court Decision is Disastrous
- Supreme Court Rejects Protecting Internal Whistleblowers
- Whistleblower Protections Are At Risk At The High Court
- Digital Realty Trust V. Somers May Kill Corporate Compliance
- Clarifying Anti-Retaliation Protections Under Dodd-Frank