If your employer has offered you a severance package as part of a Reduction in Force or RIF, you first need to understand that companies typically claim that RIFS are necessary for supposed financial reasons. In truth, though, RIFS are often used to get rid of older, more expensive employees and may constitute age discrimination. …
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Coming off record low unemployment rates, businesses are increasingly shedding workers across the economy, affecting employees at companies ranging from 3M to Twitter to Yankee Candle. Fortunately, the law affords laid off individuals certain rights and protections, as summarized below: 1. Am I Entitled to Severance? In many countries, terminated employees are entitled by law …
Continue reading “I’ve Just Received a Layoff Notice. What Should I Do?”
As a physician, your primary concern is the health and safety of your patients. Sometimes, this means speaking out when you witness violations of healthcare laws or unethical practices. Unfortunately, the act of reporting such violations can sometimes put your job and career in jeopardy. Fortunately, federal and state laws provide protections for physicians who …
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U.S. Department of Justice’s Annual Report on FCA Settlements and Judgments Illustrates the Substantial Rewards Available to Courageous Whistleblowers. The federal government spends a lot of money every year. It pays billions to contractors and suppliers for goods and services, reimburses billions to health care providers through programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and awards billions in …
Since 2016, banking and financial services giant Wells Fargo has paid more than $6 billion in fines and restitution for a wide range of fraudulent and illegal activities that affected its customers. In December 2022, Wells Fargo added billions more in penalties to its extraordinary record of misconduct. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has …
Few crimes attract as much scrutiny, enforcement efforts and prosecutions by the federal government as money laundering does. And the very nature of money laundering – concealing the source of ill-gotten funds through myriad financial tricks and transactions – makes it one of the more challenging crimes to uncover. That’s why law enforcement often relies …
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A shocking, but all too familiar, pattern has emerged in corporate America as businesses have responded to the Covid-19 pandemic. Like never before, 50+ year olds in executive positions are being ousted from their jobs. Another spike in an epidemic decades long. So what’s going on? It appears that the time has come for a …
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This past September the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against 15 broker-dealers and one affiliated investment adviser for widespread and long-term failures by the firms and their employees to maintain and preserve electronic communications. The firms and their employees used a messaging application on their cell phones called WhatsApp. WhatsApp has become a popular …
A headline story in the New York Times recently read “When Having a Baby and Losing Your Job Collide.” The article discussed the recent phenomenon of large corporations, predominantly but not exclusively in the tech and media industries, offering lavish benefits and perks to attract quality workers in a tight labor market. Escalating competition for …
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Whistleblowers who call out bribery of foreign officials can reap significant rewards Never underestimate human creativity when unchecked greed is involved. People who feel unbound by such trifles as ethics, morals, fair play – or the law – will find a way to get what they want. They’ll bend and break the rules in new …
Continue reading “Bribery May Be Old School, but Greed Never Goes Out of Style”
