United States: seven companies fined for violating a whistleblower protection rule

On 9 September, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged seven companies for having made their employees sign clauses obliging them to waive their right to financial rewards for whistleblowers. These clauses had been included in the employment contract at the time of recruitment or had been the subject of a confidentiality agreement when the employees departed. “This severely impedes would-be whistleblowers from reporting potential securities law violations to the SEC,” said...