Lawson v. FMR LLC

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In Brief

The Supreme Court decided that the anti-retaliation provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley should apply to contractors and sub-contractors of publicly traded companies.

What Happened in Court

The Supreme Court, in a decision authored by Justice Ginsburg, determined that employees of a private company who reported fraud by a public company with which they contracted were covered by the anti-retaliation provisions of SOX. The court reasoned that this broad interpretation fits the text of the statute as well as the purpose for its enactment. In order for SOX to ward off another Enron-type fraud, the statute should apply to contractors outside of the publicly traded company who report fraud covered by SOX.