U.S. and EU Whistleblower Law: Defending Claims Against Highly Motivated Plaintiffs

Laws in the United States and throughout Europe have expanded the rights of whistleblowers. Many states, including New York, New Jersey and California, provide broad rights to employees who complain about conduct they reasonably believe constitutes a violation of any law.  And the EU Whistleblower Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1937) (“the Directive”) requires EU Member States to implement rights and obligations concerning whistleblowers, private organizations and the Member States themselves in national law.

In this program, which will be led by leading legal practitioners from the U.S. and Europe, we will examine the similarities and distinctions between the U.S. and E.U. whistleblower laws. We will also:

• Identify best practices and lessons learned for investigating and defending whistleblower retaliation claims;
• Discuss the recommended roles of the employer’s various relevant stakeholders, both internal and external;
• Analyze the legal and cultural deviations between Europe and the United States in relation to how to conduct the internal investigations;
• Outline questionable litigation strategies and recommendations for avoiding liability; and
• Discuss affirmative obligations of employers to implement internal whistleblower reporting mechanisms and the like.

SPEAKERS:
• Philip Berkowitz, Shareholder, LITTLER MENDELSON
• Juan Bonilla, Partner, CUATRECASAS
• Donal Hamilton, Partner, McCANN FITZGERALD
• Yvonne Bendinger-Rothschild, Executive Director, EACCNY [Moderator]

TIME:
8:30 – 9:00 AM Check-in | 9:00 – 10:15 AM Program | 10:15 – 10:30 AM Networking

REGISTRATION FEE:
EACCNY Members: Free
EACCNY non-Members: Free