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The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 806: Ten Years Later

Vincent Agnello and Audrey Agnello

The BRC Academy Journal of Business

Volume 3

Number 1

Print ISSN: 2152-8721 Online ISSN: 2152-873X

Date: March 15, 2013

First Page 19

Last Page 37

Abstract

The efforts of Sherron Watkins at Enron and Cynthia Cooper at WorldCom led to revelations of scandal at those institutions and highlighted the importance of the role of the “whistleblower.” It was, consequently, legislated into the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Section 806), the most comprehensive attempt at preventing and detecting corporate fraud among publicly traded companies ever undertaken. The success of a whistleblower program in public firms is determined by the protection afforded the whistleblower under the SOX and this in turn will ultimately determine the Act’s effectiveness. We are approaching the tenth anniversary of this landmark legislation. This paper analyzes the legal issues faced by whistleblowers under SOX as interpreted by the appellate courts and recent legislative changes. In particular, what protection is afforded an employee who stepped forward under Sarbanes Oxley? Has the anti-retaliation section provided the protection necessary to protect the whistleblowers? How has the whistleblower protection changed under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act?

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