Whistleblower Protection Blog : Whistleblower Lawyer & Attorney : National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund : Whistleblower Protection, Fraud Claims : Washington DC

Today the Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, held that one provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is unconstitutional.  However, it also held that this one provision is "severable" so that the other provisions of SOX, including the whistleblower protection, are still in force.  The case is Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, No. 08-861 (June 28, 2010). The unconstitutional provision of SOX limited the president's power to remove members of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

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Khaled Said posted video to the internet that showed police officers in Egypt sharing profits from a drug deal. On Monday, Neal Ungerleider of True/Slant has posted a translation of Arabic-language article from Al-Shorouk. The article describes how two informants came to an internet cafe in Alexandria, Egypt, and called for all patrons to show identification under emergency law. Mr. Said refused, and the first perpetrator (Mahmoud al-Falah) promptly tied his hands.  Mr. Said resisted, and the informants beat him and dragged him to another building. Witnesses with cameras followed Mr. Said as he was beaten, taken to a police station, and within 15 minutes dumped into the street. His body had a broken jaw, mangled ribs and a cracked skull. Demonstrators in Alexandria and Cairo protested Mr. Said's torture and killing. His Facebook memorial page has drawn over 100,000 members. The Egyptian government has failed to call for prosecution of the perpetrators.  Egyptian blogger travellerwithin has reported on one demonstration as follows:

According to the respected Al-Nadeem Centre for the Rehabilitation of victims of violence and torture, a Thursday 70-person strong demonstration by the Sidi Gaber police station in Alexandria – where Khaled died – ended in the police beating up the demonstrators and arrested 11 persons, including two journalists and Khaled’s female cousin.

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National Public Radio (NPR) is reporting that a federal administrative judge has ordered that the Massey Coal Company temporarily reinstate whistleblower Ricky Lee Campbell while his retaliation case is pending.  Campbell drove coal shuttle cars and bolted mine roofs at the Upper Big Branch and Massey's Slip Ridge Cedar Grove mine.  He complained about problems with the brakes and power pedals.  He was fired before the April 5 explosion killed 29 of his coworkers.

The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, 30 U.S.C. § 815(c), contains one of the best preliminary reinstatement provisions for whistleblowers.  Unless the administrative judge finds that the complaint is frivolous, then the law requires that the whistleblower get a preliminary reinstatement order to keep working while the case proceeds. That is the order Campbell has just received.

The Mine Safety and Health Act has a short statute of limitations, though -- just sixty (60) days.  This type of unevenness (laws strong on some points and weak on others) shows why we need a comprehensive whistleblower law that will give all whistleblowers the benefits of modern whistleblower laws.  Massey, meanwhile, is promising to appeal the order reinstating Campbell.

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Our upcoming seminar titled “Integrating the False Claims Act into Your Law Practice” is now approved for CLE credit in Pennsylvania and Ohio for attorneys who choose to attend the seminar in our offices in Washington, D.C. Attorneys also have the option to attend via teleconference, but not for CLE credit.

The False Claims Act is one of the most powerful federal whistleblower laws. Unfortunately, attorneys and their clients often miss the opportunity to file a claim, because they lack knowledge of the law's unique requirements and procedures. This seminar will provide an introduction to the law to help an attorney determine both how and whether to file a claim under the False Claims Act.

Date: Friday, July 23, 2010
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EST

To register for this seminar, click here. For more information, click here or call 202-342-1903. 

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