http://soxattorney.com SOX Defense Attorney Tue, 25 May 2010 16:27:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The  Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, passed by the Senate last week extends Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) whistleblower protections to employees of subsidiaries and affiliates of publicly-treaded companies. Section 929A.  This appears to be identical to a provision in the reform legislation the House passed on Dec. 11, 2009. ... http://soxattorney.com/2010/blog/sox-investigation-compliance/finance-reform-will-clarify-sox/ The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an employee was an “employee prevailing” on his Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) whistleblower claim when his case was resolved via an offer of judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68. The employee, who worked as a vice president and project ... http://soxattorney.com/2009/blog/sarbanes-oxley-processes/offer-of-judgment-makes-sox-whistleblower-a-prevailing-party-and-entitles-whistleblower-to-attorneys-fees/ The Fourth Circuit Federal Court ruled that an employee who was fired after reporting alleged billing irregularities is not protected by the whistleblower provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”). Plaintiff Stacy Platone began working as the manager of labor relations for Atlantic Coast Airlines (“ACA”) in 2002.  Previously, she ... http://soxattorney.com/2008/blog/sarbanes-oxley-sox-claims/fourth-circuit-confirms-that-billing-irregularities-not-enough-for-sox-whistleblower-protection/ OSHA has ordered The Charles Schwab Corp. to reinstate and pay back pay and damages to two employees who were fired in violation of the whistleblower provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The whistleblower complaint was filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on June 15, 2007, ... http://soxattorney.com/2008/blog/sarbanes-oxley-sox-claims/schwabe-ordered-to-reinstate-sox-whistleblowers/ As first reported in the SoxFirst blog today.  The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld the constitutionality of Sarbanes-Oxley, and in particular the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.  The opinion is in response to the appeal filed in 2006 by the Free Enterprise Fund which claimed that the manner ... http://soxattorney.com/2008/blog/dc-court-upholds-constitutionality-of-sox/ The first claimant to win a Sox Whistleblower case   suffered another setback in a federal appeals court last week. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to  reinstate David Welch to his job, ruling that he failed to explain how his employer's alleged shoddy accounting practices could be considered a ... http://soxattorney.com/2008/uncategorized/the-fourth-circuit-rejects-reinstatement-for-first-sox-whistleblower/ Japan recently enacted the Financial Instruments Exchange Law  which includes a regulation entitled Management Assessment and Audit of Internal Control over Financial Reporting ("ICFR").  ICFR requires management to provide an assessment of its internal control over its financial reporting. The regulation also requires that the registrant obtain an auditor’s opinion on management's ... http://soxattorney.com/2008/uncategorized/j-sox/ Individual Liability for SOX Whistleblower Retaliation.  The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 specifically applies to all officers, employees, contractors, subcontractors, or agents of a covered company. At least one Adminitrative Law Judge has ruled that individuals may be properly named as respondents in SOX whistleblower protection claims under Section 806 of the Act. ... http://soxattorney.com/2008/blog/individual-liability-for-sox-whistleblower-retaliation/ O'Mahony v. Accenture Earlier this year, a New York Federal Judge found that a former senior employee of a global consulting firm who was stationed in Paris can sue for damages under the whistleblower protection provision of Sarbanes-Oxley. Rosemary O’Mahony, a British citizen who worked for Accenture in France for 14 ... http://soxattorney.com/2008/blog/french-subsidiary-may-have-exposure-for-retaliation-under-sarbanes-oxley/ Section 1107 of SOX imposes several criminal penalties. The penalties include a fine and/or imprisonment for up to 10 years. Section 1107 does NOT create a private cause of action. See In Re Compact Disc Minimum Advertised Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1361 (D.Me.Oct. 2, 2006). Section 1107 provides that: "whoever knowingly, with the ... http://soxattorney.com/2008/uncategorized/criminal-exposure-of-sarbanes-oxley/