The United States Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") recently issued an interim final rule revising the regulations governing whistleblower complaints under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ("SOX"). The interim final rule, which was published in the Federal Register on November 3, 2011, implements the substantive changes to the whistleblower protections of SOX brought about by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank"). Dodd-Frank was signed into law by President Barack Obama in July 2010 and made several changes to SOX, including clarifying that subsidiaries of publicly traded companies are covered employers, adding protection for employees from retaliation by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, extending the statute of limitations period for retaliation complaints from 90 days to 180 days, providing complainants with the right to a jury trial in district court in certain cases, and restricting the ability of individuals to waive or arbitrate SOX whistleblower claims. In addition to implementing the substantive changes from Dodd-Frank, the interim final rule reorganizes the complaint filing process to make it consistent with other whistleblower programs administered by OSHA and more accessible for individuals. The interim final rule is open for a 60-day comment period.
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