Illinois Whistleblower Lawyer
If you’re prepared to blow the whistle on a violation of securities laws, a qualified and experienced Illinois whistleblower attorney can help you protect your anonymity and secure a financial reward.
The fear of being retaliated against by employers often prevents would-be whistleblowers from coming forward. Couple that with the stress of knowing your employer is harming investors, your colleagues, and others, and the situation can quickly become too much to bear.
If you choose to move forward as a whistleblower and seek a financial reward, you will be able to protect your identity from becoming known with the help of an Illinois whistleblower lawyer. Your qualified attorney at Meissner Associates will advise you on what you can expect after you’ve taken the first steps in reporting the information you have to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Requirements to Receive a Whistleblower Reward from the SEC
It will be of utmost importance that the information you provide meets the criteria for a whistleblower reward. These requirements are defined by the SEC. If your tip doesn’t meet each of these requirements, you will not be able to collect a reward.
The first of these qualifications includes your tip being made voluntarily. You must come forward with your tip before the SEC requests to interview you regarding a possible securities violation. If investigators beat you to the punch and you provide your information, you will not be eligible for a reward, as the SEC expects whistleblowers to tip them off prior to an investigation beginning.
The next requirement is that your information is original. This refers to your information being obtained via a source that is not available to the public, whether it’s through uncovered documents or talk around the workplace. In addition, you need to be the first whistleblower to come forward with this particular tip. A whistleblower lawyer in Illinois can help you act quickly before a colleague seizes the opportunity.
Finally, the SEC needs to be able to take what’s known as enforceable action against the violating company in question. Your tip should be able to directly lead to the success of the SEC’s investigation. The SEC must also recover sanctions in excess of $1,000,000 for you to be rewarded. Depending on how critical your tip was to the case, you could receive between 10 and 30 percent of the recovered sum.
It is unlikely that you’ll be able to tell whether your tip will meet each of these requirements. But your capable attorney at Meissner Associates will be able to determine the likely outcome if you schedule a confidential tip evaluation with us.
Retaliation for Blowing the Whistle in Illinois
The Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley Acts include provisions that allow would-be whistleblowers to remain anonymous when they submit their tips to the SEC, as long as they do so with the assistance of legal counsel. That’s where a whistleblower attorney in Illinois could come in.
These rules allow whistleblowers to protect themselves from being retaliated against by their employers—a fear that often prevents whistleblowers from coming forward in the first place.
Should your employer choose to retaliate against you by creating a hostile work environment, defaming your professional reputation, harassing you, demoting you, or terminating your employment, the company will be in violation of Dodd-Frank regulations.
In the event that you become the subject of retaliation for suspected whistleblowing, an attorney from our firm can help you file a lawsuit that could enable you to be reinstated to your former position, receive double back-pay, and recover other losses that relate to the retaliation. The SEC may also impose sanctions of its own on companies that retaliate against whistleblowers.
Get in Touch with an Illinois Whistleblower Attorney
Discovering that the company you work for has been participating in fraudulent activity involving securities violations and investment schemes can be a hard pill to swallow. Fortunately, you don’t have to sit with this information alone. Working with a lawyer, you’ll be able to submit your tip to the SEC anonymously, protecting yourself from retaliation by your employer.
By working with our firm, you can increase your chance of providing a tip to the SEC that will win you a sizable whistleblower reward and put a stop to the defrauding of investors. Speak with an Illinois whistleblower lawyer at Meissner Associates today by scheduling a confidential tip evaluation. Give our office a call at 1-866-764-3100 or fill out the secure contact form below.