When Is A 'Whistleblower' Not Really A 'Whistleblower'?

Question:  When is a “whistleblower” not really a “whistleblower”?

 

Answer:  When an employee reports potential misconduct only to his or her employer and that employer happens to be located in the Fifth Circuit.

 

Since the promulgation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd Frank”), five federal district courts have held that employees who report suspected wrongdoing to upper management, but not to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), are “whistleblowers” for purposes of the Act, entitled to the protection of Dodd Frank’s anti-retaliation provisions.  Going against the tide, in a recent ruling in Asadi v. G.E. Energy (USA), L.L.C., the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals – the first Circuit Court to address this issue – has held exactly the opposite, ruling that an employee who reported a potential Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violation to his employer, G.E. Energy(USA), L.L.C., was not a “whistleblower” because he did not “provide information relating to a violation of the securities laws to the SEC.” [...]