Qui Tam

Qui Tam Thrives Under Obama

By LaBovick Law

I knew this administration would "get it" on at least this issue:  Creating qui tam and whistleblower protection is the best way to root out fraud in the government.  Today, July 15, 2010 Congress passed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) with vote of 60 to 39.  This act includes quite a few provisions which are intended to help employees report fraud on Wall Street.  Now an employee who reports fraud on Wall Street will be entitled to monetary rewards for helping the government collect back those funds.  Also, the bill has given teeth to provisions designed to stop retaliation against the whistleblower by having those violations reported directly to the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. 

Any loopholes that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act had on the issue of corporate whistle blowing against the subsidiaries of publicly traded companies are also now closed.  Another great feature of the act is that it does not permit mandatory arbitration on Wall Street whistleblower claims but does allow jury trials and requires the SEC to start a new "whistleblower protection office".  There is a short three year statute of limitations for retaliation cases under the False Claims Act which they should have made five or seven years but 3 is better than 2 so I shouldn't complain.  Retaliation will be considered a violation of the federal Obstruction of Justice Act and that means it will have teeth!

Full post as published by Whistleblower Law Blog on July 15, 2010 (boomark / email).