Securities and Exchange Commission February 18, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'' or ``SEC'') is proposing for public comment amendments to the Commission's rules implementing its whistleblower program. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') provides for, among other things, the issuance of monetary awards to any eligible whistleblower who voluntarily provides the SEC with original information about a securities law violation that leads to the SEC's success in obtaining a monetary order of more than a million dollars in a covered judicial or administrative action brought by the SEC (``covered action''). If an eligible whistleblower qualifies for an award, Section 21F requires an award that is at least 10 percent, but no more than 30 percent, of the amount of the monetary sanctions collected in the covered action. The receipt of an award in a covered action also enables a whistleblower to qualify for an award in connection with judicial or administrative actions based on the whistleblower's same original information and brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (``DOJ'') and certain other statutorily identified agencies or entities (``related actions''). The proposed rules would make two substantive changes to the Commission's whistleblower rules that implement the whistleblower program, as well as several conforming amendments and technical corrections.

The Securities and Exchange Commission published a document in the Federal Register on February 14, 2022, concerning a Notice of Designation of a Longer Period for Commission Action on a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Provisions of Rule 7.35B. The document contained a typographical error.