Maryland recently took an important step in the fight against tax dodgers, as it enacted a bill that creates a tax whistleblower program similar to the successful programs administered by the Internal Revenue Service and the District of Columbia. The policy created by Maryland House Bill 804, which was enacted on June 1, 2021, and […]

So-called defined-contribution plans—such as 401(k) plans—have become “the primary private savings vehicle for most Americans’ retirement.”[1] The assets held by 401(k) plans have more than doubled over the past decade, and as of 2019, these plans held a whopping $6.4 trillion in retirement savings.[2] With trillions at issue and the retirement security of millions of […]

On January 1, 2021, Congress overrode then-President Trump’s veto to pass the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AMLA”), an important new law that is designed to combat money laundering.[1] Among the provisions of the AMLA, the ban on shell companies—which, when finalized, will require most U.S. companies to report their so-called “true beneficial owner”—has received […]

On December 1, 2020, the Council of the District of Columbia passed the False Claims Amendment Act of 2020, B23-0035 (the “Amendment”).[1] The Amendment extends the reach of D.C.’s existing False Claims Act to also cover tax fraud—a type of fraud that was previously excluded. This change means that whistleblowers will become able bring a […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently voted to accept long-anticipated revisions to the rules governing its whistleblower program. While not all of the changes present a boon to whistleblowers, one modification clearly does—because under revised Rule 21-F6, there is now a presumption that, for many awards, the SEC will pay a whistleblower the statutory […]

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued a guidance document explaining that 401(k) plans are permitted to invest in private equity funds, albeit only indirectly.[1] The DOL touts its new guidance as a policy that “level[s] the playing field for ordinary investors” and helps “ensure that ordinary people investing for retirement have the opportunities […]

The Federal False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq., is probably the best-known whistleblower statute, allowing private plaintiffs to bring suit on behalf of the Government in a qui tam suit. The federal Government also provides other, less well-known avenues for whistleblowers to shed light on corporate wrongdoing in return for a […]

Discrimination against older employees and job seekers is and remains pervasive. For example, a 2017 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that older applicants have call-back rates that are thirty to forty-seven percent lower than those of their younger counterparts. The study further found that the difference is most pronounced for […]