WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 9, 2013) – Littler Mendelson, P.C. (Littler), the world’s largest employment and labor law firm representing management, filed an Amicus Curiae brief on behalf of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest human resources association, in support of the respondents in the case, Lawson v. FMR LLC, pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether employees of private contractors or subcontractors who perform work for public companies are protected from retaliation under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). The First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the respondents in interpreting Section 806 as applying solely to employees of publicly traded companies.
“The issues raised in this appeal are of great importance to human resource professionals and the entire business community. A ruling reversing the First Circuit’s decision and applying SOX's anti-retaliation provision to private companies would have significant implications for employers and would be contrary to Congress’ express intent in drafting the law,” said Gregory Keating, co-chair of Littler’s Whistleblowing and Retaliation Practice. “Extending Section 806 to the millions of private employers that contract with publicly traded companies would impose substantial and unwarranted burdens of these companies and their human resource professionals and would most certainly lead to an avalanche of litigation.”
The brief outlines the various implications of expanding SOX's anti-retaliation provision from employees of about 4,500 publicly traded companies to those employed by some six million private entities in the United States, including:
The significant time and costs for private employers to learn unfamiliar securities laws and conduct complicated fraud investigations.
Increased litigation and backed up administrative agencies and federal courts.
The danger of frustrated or disgruntled employees advancing allegations of fraud to avoid otherwise legitimate job decisions.
View the brief.
For more information visit the SHRM website.
About Littler Mendelson
Littler Mendelson is the world’s largest labor and employment law firm exclusively devoted to representing management. With over 980 attorneys and 57 offices throughout the U.S. and globally, Littler has extensive resources to address the needs of U.S.-based and multi-national clients from navigating domestic and international employment laws and labor relations issues to applying corporate policies worldwide. Established in 1942, the firm has litigated, mediated and negotiated some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record.