 |
Sarbanes-Oxley News & Developments
SOX Changes EverythingThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) creates personal liability for public and private companies and their executives.
> > In the volumes that have already been written about recent Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) legislation, little attention has been given to the global impact this statute will have on employment and business practices - without regard to the publicly traded status of the company. Since SOX enactment in July 2002, most commentary has focused on its broad securities requirements for reporting, disclosure and auditing of financial practices by companies on the public stock exchanges. Private and not-for-profit employers have assumed that SOX has no applicability to their business. They could not be more tragically mistaken.
Among the many new statutory provisions in SOX, drastic civil and criminal law penalties extend far beyond the publicly traded company and affect virtually every business without regard to size or ownership status. In addition to the anti-retaliation protections afforded whistleblowers of publicly traded companies, SOX also makes it a federal felony to retaliate against ANY PERSON for providing truthful information to a federal law enforcement officer relating to any federal offense. Far more than securities fraud is encompassed in this language. The new penalty for whistleblower retaliation, without regard to private OR public emplor status, is up to ten years in prison.
SOX also created new federal crimes that extend obstruction of justice offenses to historic levels. In addition to the felonies that proscribe public securities fraud and accounting irregularities, there are additional criminal penalties for similar crimes without regard to the publicly traded status of the company involved. Indeed, SOX has changed everything.
Source: Walter Lansden Dorch & Davis article
Published:2003-06-30
|
|
