Internal Investigations

2018 was a transformative year for corporate governance. Record whistleblower awards, an increasing number internal investigations partly arising out of the #MeToo movement, an expansion of the role of companies’ boards, and corporate social responsibility all shaped 2018. This is our retrospective review of these trends.

 Record Whistleblower Tips and Awards and Possible Changes

Companies

During his campaign, President Donald Trump raised uncertainty with statements that he disapproved of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Since then, however, the Department of Justice has emphasized its continued enforcement efforts for FCPA violations.

On April 18, 2017, at the Anti-Corruption, Export Controls & Sanctions Compliance Summit, DOJ’s Acting Principal Assistant Attorney General Trevor

On April 5, 2016, the Department of Justice had set forth a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) Enforcement Plan and Guidance on enforcement, announcing an FCPA enforcement pilot program to promote greater accountability for individuals and companies that engage in corporate crime by motivating companies to voluntarily self-disclose FCPA-related misconduct, fully cooperate with the DOJ,

It is vital that all employers investigate internal complaints that may be covered under a variety of laws, including EEO laws (for example, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, and state EEO laws), whistleblower laws such as, Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd Frank (and state whistleblower laws), OSHA, the False Claims Act, and the NLRA. Additionally, employers conduct investigations in

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently settled its first administrative proceeding and enforcement action under the Dodd-Frank Act involving an employer’s use of a form confidentiality agreement.  The SEC found the agreement, which prohibited employees from discussing aspects of internal investigations without prior law department authorization, could interfere with the employee’s ability to communicate with

Two former executives at one of the nation’s leading healthcare claims processing firms, MultiPlan, Inc., were recently sentenced to serve one year and one day in federal prison for their role in a scheme to steer contracts to technology vendors in exchange for $3.4 million in bribes and kickbacks.

Keith Bush, MultiPlan’s former Vice President

Whether a claimant qualifies as a whistleblower under the  language of the Dodd-Frank Act when he  does not complain directly to the SEC is  the question the Eighth  Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis may attempt to answer.

Securities clearing and settlement firm COR Clearing LLC has appealed a Nebraska District Court’s denial of

Written by Maurice Jenkins

Attorney-client privilege protects against disclosure of internal investigation documents if a significant purpose of the communication is obtaining or providing legal advice, according to the influential D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals,. In Re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., et al., No. 14-5055 (D.C. Cir. June 27, 2014).

In this case,

Companies face increasing demands for internal investigations.  This increase may be attributed to a surge in retaliation charges, whistleblower liability and the creation of internal hotlines making it easier for employees to raise concerns, among other things.  While a company already may have an existing internal investigations process, it must proceed with caution: not all