With a new presidential administration and new local government officials taking office across the country, it is a prime opportunity to make real strides to end police brutality and law enforcement corruption. In addition to passing reforms and new laws, true change will require those inside law enforcement to...
On January 12, the Department of Justice announced that it had entered into a settlement with Washington-based Insitu, Inc. related to claims brought by a False Claims Act whistleblower. D R O’Hara sued Insitu, Inc. under the False Claims Act, which allows whistleblowers to sue companies for false claims...
At the end of 2019, women held over half of all jobs on payroll for only the second year in history. Because of the pandemic, weak family leave policies, and a lack of affordable childcare, this milestone was short-lived. By mid-2020, millions of American women had lost their jobs,...
On January 7, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had awarded more than $1.1 million to five whistleblowers for producing information that led to a successful enforcement action. The SEC Relies on Whistleblowers to Fight Securities Fraud The SEC’s first order awarded almost $500,000 to three whistleblowers...
Often it seems that employees are at the beck and call of their employers, with little control over how and when they work. Short notice of canceled shifts or mandatory overtime can be difficult to accommodate and can wreak havoc on an employee’s family and personal life. While employers...
The SEC has already made whistleblower awards of almost $180 million to 22 individuals in the first quarter of fiscal 2021–which runs from October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. In fiscal year 2020, the SEC paid a record $175 million to 39 tipsters, but it has already broken...
Thankfully, yes. Millions of hard-working Americans suffer from the disease of alcoholism and/or drug addiction. The California Legislature recognizes this and has specifically passed laws to allow employees to take time off to voluntarily enter a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program. This article will discuss both of them. The...
On November 4, 2021—after Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Postmates spent over $200 million dollars in potentially misleading advertising—California voters passed Proposition 22, a voter initiative that provided a legal exemption to California’s laws on what constitutes an employer-employee relationship for “app-based rideshare and delivery drivers.” These companies put Prop. 22 on the ballot to expressly escape a California Court of...
The following post was updated on Jan 18th, 2023. Unfortunately, layoffs becoming common in this economic climate, and have been used as an excuse to discriminate against employees that the employer wants to “get rid of” for other reasons. Often, these employees are older workers, who face significant bias...
This fall, the Securities and Exchange Commission revamped its whistleblower awards program for the first time in 10 years. Those reforms — touching on who is eligible to receive an award for bringing tips to the agency; how large the award might be; and the actual process to submit...