Allen v. A.R.B.
March 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
In January of 2008, the Fifth Circuit held “an employee’s complaint must ‘definitively and specifically’ relate to one of the six enumerated categories found in the Act.” The are mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud, any rule or regulation of the SEC, and any provision of federal law relating to fraud against shareholders See Allen v. Administrative Review Bd., 514 F. 3d 468, WL 171588, (5th Cir. 2008).
The Fifth Circuit found that an employee must have a reasonable belief that the employer engaged in one of the enumerated categories, and such reasonable belief is to be scrutinized under both a subjective and objective standard. The Fifth Circuit also found that the objective standard to be applied is similar to that of Title VII retaliation claims. However, while the objective reasonableness of an employee’s belief is sometimes decided as a matter of law, if there is a genuine issue of material fact it cannot be.
The Fifth Circuit also noted that an employee’s mistaken belief an employer violated one of the six categories is protected, if the mistaken belief was reasonable.
When discussing the sixth category (any provision of federal law relating to fraud against shareholders), the Fifth Circuit noted that “the employee must reasonably believe that his or her employer acted with an intent to deceive, manipulate, or defraud its shareholders.”
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