On March 20, 2018, a U.S. Circuit Court held that under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, the SEC may give monetary awards to whistleblowers (in the range of 10% to 30% of monetary penalties that are over $1 million) as long as they provide timely and credible information to the SEC that significantly contributes to a successful enforcement action.
The SEC had denied claims for a monetary award, reasoning that the SEC investigated and tried the company in question without having access to (or having access but not using) the claimant's information. In upholding the SEC's decision and setting this standard of review for an appeal of an SEC denial of an award in a whistleblower action, the appeals court firmly established the threshold that whistleblowers are expected to meet before they become eligible to claim monetary compensation.
