In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, host Jane Turner speaks with leading whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn, founding partner of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto and Chairman of the Board of National Whistleblower Center, about the recent landmark ruling in the Supreme Court whistleblower case Murray v. UBS Securities.
Kohn gives historical perspective on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) and explains the law. A major aspect of SOX was that it changed the burden of proof so that whistleblowers only need to prove that their whistleblowing was a “contributing factor” to a decision to fire them. In Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, et al. 601 U. S. ____ (2024), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had held that whistleblowers must not prove that the employer acted with “retaliatory intent.” This was the issue before the Supreme Court in Murray.
Kohn explains the statute and how the Court applied it in Murray. He then goes on to discuss the impact of the Court’s ruling on whistleblower law. “This precedent not only covers Wall-Street but covers whistleblower laws across the board.”
“I believe, based on the Supreme Court decision and the jury verdict, Trevor Murray will ultimately fully prevail, and this will be a historic victory for every single corporate whistleblower, federal employee and other sectors of the economy,” Kohn says.
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