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Whistleblowers are key to promoting corporate transparency and accountability at home and abroad.

On Behalf of | Oct 22, 2014 | Employment Law |

Let’s talk about what whistleblowers can do to improve respect for basic human rights in our global supply chain.

Fighting for “human rights” means fighting for basic labor rights to a minimum wage, overtime pay, fair and safe working conditions, and an end to child labor, slavery and labor trafficking. All of the above.

I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts with distinguished panelists and colleagues at the annual conference for the American Branch of the International Law Association later this week in New York City.  The intersection of SEC rulemaking under Dodd-Frank with new domestic laws and developing international norms around supply chain accountability creates new opportunities for whistleblowers to take part in addressing the role of multinational corporations in human rights abuses.

Whistleblowers are key to promoting corporate transparency and accountability at home and abroad.

The annual International Law Workshop to be held at Fordham Law School is sponsored and organized by the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) and the International Law Students Association (ILSA). According to materials, the annual conference attracts an audience of more than one thousand practitioners, academics, diplomats, members of the governmental and nongovernmental sectors, and most importantly, foreign policy and law students who are learning about the range of practice and career opportunities. I am honored to be selected to take part.

It is absolutely essential that private litigators build bridges among these new lawyers, academics, diplomats, and dignitaries to work together to solve our global problems.

As domestic private attorneys working in labor rights, employment rights, and whistleblower protection, we must step up as partners in the fight for international human rights and corporate accountability. Whether under SEC whistleblower rules addressing foreign corrupt practices, under the False Claims Act to clean up government contractor procurement, or using any number of domestic legal mechanisms to fight corruption at home and abroad, our whistleblower clients are indispensable “eyes and ears” in the fight for international corporate responsibility.

In recent years foreign nationals with key information on the international operations of corporations listed on the US stock exchange have triggered hundreds of millions in SEC fines, penalties, and other recovery. Some recent whistleblowers have received millions of dollars in rewards for stepping forward under the SEC whistleblower program. Domestically and abroad, many whistleblowers risk their lives as well as their livelihoods when they report abuses internally or provide information to the government.

Whistleblowers collectively are a mounting but mostly untapped force in deterring government fraud, foreign corrupt practices and other corporate abuses. Let’s discuss… contact Attorney David Nacht.