Whistleblower complaints up under Sarbanes-Oxley

The Associated Press is reporting that the number of whistleblowers reporting employer misconduct rose to 181 in the twelve months ending September 30.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was signed into law in 2002, created whistleblower protections for employees reporting possible financial fraud committed by their employer.  The Act makes it illegal for employers to terminate or retaliate against employees who report what they reasonably believe to be fraudulent activity taking place.  For example, Ammar Halloum reported that Intel was purposely delaying payment for factory parts in order to raise short-term earnings. 

Congress designated the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as the agency to administer the Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower protection.  The Occupational Safety and Health Act provides some whistleblower protection for workers reporting unsafe working conditions to OSHA or seeking an OSHA inspection.

OSHA maintains a page with information about the various whistleblower programs it administers.