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Sarbanes-Oxley News & Developments
OSHA National News ReleaseOSHA has published an interim FINAL RULE on Whistleblower procedures.
> > The Sarbanes-Oxley Act(SOX)was enacted July 30,2002, to protect employees in public traded companies and their contractors, subcontractors, or agents from retaliation for providing information that an employee believes is a violation of a SEC rule or other federal law relating to fraud against shareholders.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA)published a FEDERAL REGISTER whish is an interim final rule to establish procedures for the handling of whistleblower complaints under the Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability Act of 2002, also known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act(SOX).
The whistleblower provision of SOX protects workers who have the courage to speak out against corporate abuse and fraud and should be an effective measure to encourage corporations to conduct themselves in an ethical fashion. The rule establishes procedures for the expeditious handling of discrimination complaints made by employees, or by persons acting on their behalf. Included in the interim rule are procedures for submitting complaints under SOX, investigations, and issuance of findings and preliminary orders. A major part of the rule details litigation procedures and how one can object to the findings and request a hearing. The final section of the rule discusses misc. provisions including withdrawals of complaints and settlements - judicial review and judicial enforcement.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor (OSHA)
Published:2003-06-25
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