Compliance Stuff

Compliance software vendor  LRN Corp.  released its latest study of corporate codes of conduct last week. Given that the code of conduct is a sacred text for compliance programs everywhere, let’s look at the findings to see what’s common practice for codes these days and how much those practices do or don’t matter in today’s world. The  report is available on LRN‘s website , and we should always beware that LRN does sell software and consulting services to compliance officers, so it has a commercial interest in talking about this stuff. That said, the study is still worth your time. LRN reviewed 194 codes from large corporations around the world, and surveyed 2,000 employees across 15 countries about how their codes are used or perceived in the workplace. So there’s plenty of food for thought here.   Among the major findings… Companies are updating their codes at a fairly steady pace .  LRN found that 73 percent of codes it studied had been updated within the l...

At a Glance Court of Appeal confirms employee is not prevailing party in whistleblower retaliation claim where employer would have made the “same decision” to terminate regardless of whistleblower status. California Supreme Court confirms that Labor Code whistleblower protections cover “employees” only. Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court provided helpful guidance on whistleblower retaliation cases. The Court of Appeal addressed who is a prevailing party entitled to fee and cost recovery under Labor Code section 1102.5  et seq ., California’s whistleblower retaliation law. The California Supreme Court clarified who is an employee entitled to whistleblower protection under the statute. “Same-Decision” Defense Under Whistleblower Statute Section 1102.5, in part, prohibits retaliation by employers against an  employee : for disclosing information, or because the employer believes that the employee disclosed or may disclose information, to a go...