Law360: Rise in Whistleblower Protections Inspires New Firm Practices
Summary: Thanks to increased whistleblower protections, more law firms are improving their practices to litigate whistleblower cases. Recently, several firms have announced whistleblower practices in response to new protections within laws like the recent Dodd-Frank Act.
Key Quote: While Dodd-Frank was a boon for whistleblowers, the effort to expand protections started to gain steam years ago, with the passage of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act in 2006. Since then, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, and the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 have all included whistleblower protections.
“Altogether, that’s about 65 million new employees who, in the private sector, have coverage,” said Government Accountability Project President Louis Clark. “That’s all happened in six years, so it’s a dramatic change and law firms are aware of this, so that’s quite a good reason, I think, for them to have a practice in this area.”
Bloomberg News: Rolls-Royce Must Face Whistleblowers’ Contract Suit
Summary: Rolls-Royce is facing a whistleblower suit from two former employees who allege that the company defrauded the federal government by not reporting defects in aircraft engines for the Defense Department. A federal judge ruled yesterday that the lawsuit can proceed.
RT: Assange Guests Grilled – Is FBI Collecting ‘Evidence’ for Indictment?
Summary: Guests who have appeared on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s television show on RT have been detained and/or questioned by the FBI, allegedly to gather information about Assange for an indictment.
Nebraska Watchdog: Omaha’s Nuke Plant Subject of New Whistleblower Complaints
Summary: Whistleblowers have stepped forward with complaints about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s handling of recent issues at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station in Nebraska. Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) has released some of these new complaints, including alleging that the NRC watered down its investigation of a June 2011 fire at the plant.
Summary: An employee of security company G4S was fired after she blew the whistle on the company cutting corners when vetting security staff for the upcoming 2012 Olympics in London.
Reuters: FDA Urged to Rethink on Antibiotics in Animal Feed
Summary: A federal judge asked the FDA to reconsider its rejection of two citizen petitions calling to restrict the use of antibiotics in animal feed. The move follows a recent court order for FDA to follow up on its plan to ban common drugs used in animal agriculture unless proven safe, which the agency appealed.
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
