SOX Whistleblowers Protection

AN EMPLOYEE’S   ASSISTANCE IN RESPONDING TO A SUBPOENA  BY A GRAND JURY WAS POTENTIALLY ”ASSISTING” A PROCEEDING AND THEREFORE POTENTIALLY  A PROTECTED ACTIVITY

In Miles v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,No. 5:06-CV-05162, slip op. at n.4 and surrounding text (W.D.Ark. Jan. 25, 2008), the court found that the Plaintiff had created a geniune issue of material fact as to whether she engaged in protected activity under the SOX where she had provided assistance to the FBI and an Assistant U.S. Attorney in connection with Wal-Mart’s response to a grand jury subpoena calling for production of documents concerning union-related labor relations and the investigation of a former executive for suspected fraud. The Plaintiff  had objected to an instruction to shred certain documents being digitized in her labor relations department which might have been subject to the subpoena. Wal-Mart argued that the Plaintiff had only aided an “investigation” as opposed to a “proceeding.” The court found that under the circumstances, a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the Plaintiff  engaged in protected activity.

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