David Marshall Quoted on SEC's BlueLinx Decision in New Article

Katz, Marshall and Banks partner David Marshall was quoted in an article entitled "SEC Cracks Down on Waivers in Severance Agreements," published in the Legal & Compliance newsletter of the Society for Human Resource Management.  The article, written by SHRM Legal Editor Allen Smith, focuses on the SEC’s decision to penalize BlueLinx Holdings for putting language in their severance agreements forcing their employees to waive their rights to whistleblower awards. The $265,000 penalty illustrates the Commission's new tactic to combat these efforts to impede whistleblowers. Mr. Marshall said that even though the SEC, not employers, pay for whistleblower bounty awards, employer-imposed waivers of these awards are still relatively common. This decision, along with a separate order against Merill Lynch for similar violations, represents a necessary step to prevent this sort of impediment to securities fraud whistleblowing.