On April 1, 2015 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (a federal agency that enforces federal securities laws) made its first ever announcement over a confidentiality clause that a company had required some of its employees sign during an internal investigation. The SEC considered that the clause in question stifled the whistleblowing process that a 2010 amendment to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act had specifically reinforced.
The 2010 Dodd-Frank amendment to the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act has resulted in several federal agencies including the OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, undertaking a review of their whistleblowing programs. The amendment specifically extends protection to whistleblowers in the financial sector. The SEC has the authority to interview employees and solicit internal witnesses. As such, a provision in the amendment states that companies cannot use confidentiality agreements to
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