It’s not easy being a whistleblower. Although huge sums have been set aside to reward those who report wrongdoing in the financial markets—$739 million is sitting there, waiting to be paid out—awards to date have barely dented those accounts. According to a newly released report by Davis Polk & Wardwell, less than $16 million of that sum has been paid by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. And whistleblowers alleging retaliation may not be faring well either. The report notes that the “vast majority” of retaliation claims filed under The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are dismissed or withdrawn.
The 20-page report looks at the “alphabet soup” of whistleblower protection provisions under Sarbanes-Oxley, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act. While Davis Polk doesn’t take a position on the wisdom or effectiveness of these whistleblower programs, the data it presents shows a trickle of awards, while many whistleblowers are having a hard time prevailing in retaliation cases.
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