January 23, 2017
Whistleblowers: BlackRock Nailed in Separation Agreement Enforcement Action
– Broc Romanek
As Yogi Berra might put it, “it’s like deja vu all over again.” Last week, the SEC tagged BlackRock for language in separation agreements that it believed created disincentives for whistleblowing. According to the SEC’s order, more than 1,000 departing BlackRock employees signed separation agreements containing violative language stating that they “waive any right to recovery of incentives for reporting of misconduct” in order to receive severance payments. This action is notable because BlackRock is one of the biggest institutional investors out there!
Last month, Broc blogged about the latest separation agreement case – the day after he blogged about another separation agreement case – and noted that more were on the way.
The SEC’s ongoing emphasis on separation agreements hammers home the need to modify agreements that may create impediments to whistleblowing. It’s also another excellent reason to tune into our upcoming webcast on TheCorporateCounsel.net – “Whistleblowers: What Companies Should Be Doing Now”…