Sarbanes-Oxley Now Has Far Reaching Tenacles.

Petitioners/plaintiffs brought an action against their former employers, privately held companies that provide advisory and management services to a mutual fund company. The allegations are that after plaintiffs raised concerns about overstated expenses associated with operating the mutual funds, they suffered adverse actions. “No [public] company. . . or any officer, employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent of such company, may discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other manner discriminate against an employee in the terms and conditions of employment because of [whistleblowing or other protected activity].”  (18 U.S.C. § 1514A; Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.) The question posed to the United States Supreme Court was whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act shields only those employed by a public company, or employees of privately held contractors and subcontractors such as investment advisers, law firms and accounting enterprises who perform work for public companies, as well. The high court ruled: “We hold, based on the text of § 1514A, the mischief to which Congress was responding that the provision shelters employees of private contractors and subcontractors, just as it shelters employees of the public company served by the contractors and subcontractors.” (Lawson v. FMR, LLC (U.S. Sup. Ct.; March 4, 2014)134 S.Ct. 1158, [188 L.Ed.2d 158].)