Will the Supreme Court Hear Its Second False Claims Act Case in Three Years?
Posted April 24th, 2018 by Inayat Hemani in Whistleblower Law.
The False Claims Act establishes liability against persons who submit false claims for payment to the Government. It allows individuals who know about such fraud against the Government to file a lawsuit on behalf of the Government and to share in the proceeds of a recovery. So how does a person know if a claim […]
SEC Proposes Regulation to Enhance Investor Protection
Posted April 19th, 2018 by Charles Field in Financial Mismanagement and Investment Fraud.
In an effort to enhance investor protections, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proposing a new rule – Regulation Best Interest – that may come as a surprise to some investors. The SEC’s proposed rule requires your stockbroker to act in your best interest at the time he or she recommends an investment to […]
That Loan Officer is NOT Your Friend: Identifying, Avoiding, and Prosecuting Predatory Lending
Posted April 12th, 2018 by Cara Van Dorn in Financial Mismanagement and Investment Fraud.
Did you know that, except in a few unusual circumstances, lenders and bank loan officers do NOT owe you a duty to act in your best interest? Did you know that it is legal for them to offer you, and even recommend, a loan that you are not equipped to pay back? Oftentimes, when people […]
Everything You Need to Know About the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act
Posted April 10th, 2018 by Cleveland Lawrence III in Whistleblower Law.
While whistleblowers already have several means to report fraud to the federal government—including the False Claims Act, the IRS whistleblower program, and the SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs—there is a new, bipartisan, fraud-fighting law on the books that rewards whistleblowers for valuable information in the auto industry. Since late 2015, the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower […]
Race Discrimination at Work: Title VII Should Cover Bias Against Dreadlocks
Posted April 9th, 2018 by Jonathan Hiles in Race Discrimination.
“We need not leave our common sense at the doorstep when we interpret a statute,” wrote a four-Justice plurality of the Supreme Court in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 241 (1989), the seminal ruling that gender stereotyping by an employer is actionable as sex discrimination under Title VII. And yet, nearly three decades […]
Tipped Off: Recent Developments in Federal Wage Law Affecting Tipped Employees
Posted April 9th, 2018 by Michael Palmer in Wages and Overtime Law.
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) generally requires that employers pay employees at least $7.25 per hour. One of the few exceptions to the rule is “tipped employees” – including waiters, bartenders, and other employees who regularly receive gratuities for performing their jobs. The FLSA allows employers to subsidize the minimum wage paid to […]
Fraudulent Investment Schemes Continue to Plague Investors: Beware of the “Red Flags”
Posted April 9th, 2018 by Charles Field in Financial Mismanagement and Investment Fraud.
We want to share with you a disturbing tale we heard recently from an investor in a private investment fund. We share this to alert you to “red flags” that signal the high likelihood of investor fraud. If you can spot them, you can better protect yourself from financial predators. The enactment of the Dodd-Frank […]
Proving Age Discrimination Against Job Seekers
Posted April 2nd, 2018 by Ellen Peterson in Age Discrimination.
Job seekers are well acquainted with the black hole into which their resumes seem to fall. They may submit dozens of applications to get one interview. And employers do not need a reason to toss a resume – they can lawfully do so for no reason at all. It is, however, unlawful to reject an […]
Righting the Wrong of Corruption: How the False Claims Act Provides for Recovery of the Full Value of Corruptly Procured Contracts
Posted March 26th, 2018 by Andrew Miller in Whistleblower Law.
Under the False Claims Act (FCA), the Government is entitled to recover money paid to private parties as a result of fraudulent conduct. Specifically, the Government is entitled to recover up to three times the primary damages it suffered as a result of the fraud, in addition to statutorily-fixed penalties for each false claim for […]
“The More the Merrier”: When Multiple Whistleblowers Jointly File a False Claims Act Case It Often Creates a Stronger Case
Posted March 19th, 2018 by Altomease Kennedy in Whistleblower Law.
The federal False Claims Act—as well as state False Claims Acts—rewards the people who provide information about companies and individuals who cause federal and/or state government entities to pay these parties more than they’re entitled to receive. These statutes also permit whistleblowers to jointly bring False Claims Act lawsuits and then jointly share in the […]