According to a recent Washington Post headline, law firms are gearing up for new whistleblower reward program.
The new program was included in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed by President Obama in July 2009 has created a bounty program that rewards individuals who provide “original information” to the SEC. The SEC can then award the individual with up to 30 percent of any successful enforcement action that exceeds $1 million.
There is no doubt that federal agencies are publicly ramping up to police illegal corporate activity… future Lessons Learned Blogs will discuss healthcare, education and others.
Here are some questions your organization’s leaders should be asking:
- Are your existing compliance programs working as you want them to?
- Are your policies and procedures updated, communicated, acknowledged and documented?
- Are employees and third-parties aware of how to report incidents?
- Are you encouraging employees to report internally before going to the government?
- Are you confident in how employee complaints will be handled?
- Do you have the right tools in place to connect the dots?
If law firms are gearing up…it is probably a good idea to pay attention to headlines and this Lessons Learned Blog too.