Who is protected by the whistleblower provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?
Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act protects any employee who discloses information to a supervisor, federal regulatory official, corporate supervisor, state or local official, media or other member of the public – in other words, virtually any audience. The employee must reasonably believe the alleged misconduct constitutes a violation of any provision of federal law relating to fraud against shareholders, or of Securities and Exchange Commission rules. SEC rules protect the shareholders’ right to know though requiring disclosure of any activities creating a material risk, or having a material impact, on the company’s stock value. This little discussed dimension of SEC rules creates unprecedented, comprehensive subject matter coverage for corporate whistleblowers. When did the whistleblower provisions go into effect? The anti-discrimination provisions under Section 806 went into effect on July 30, 2002. Internal audit committee procedures must be in place by April 30, 2003. What typ
