The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it granted certiorari in Somers v. Digital Realty Trust, Inc., to decide whether whistleblowers who report misconduct internally, and not externally to the SEC, are entitled to anti-retaliation protections under the Dodd-Frank Act. The Ninth Circuit had ruled that employees who report internally were entitled to protection. This ruling was in line with a Second Circuit decision, as well as official SEC comments on the issue. Andrew Cheresney, former SEC Enforcement Director, stated “the Commission has filed six briefs in courts of appeals, and nearly a dozen briefs in district courts, in support of its rule clarifying that individuals who make internal reports of possible securities law violations are protected under the Commission’s whistleblower rules.” Reuters reports.
Samsung is slated to open a factory in South Carolina and employ an estimated 950 people to make washing machines and other home appliances. A growing demand for American-made goods from retailers like Walmart, rising costs of labor in China, and President Trump “statements about renegotiating free-trade agreements and potentially imposing import duties” have spurred many retailers, like Alibaba and LG to invest in factory jobs in the United States. The New York Times reports.
The New Jersey state legislature recently passed a bill prohibiting employers from asking about salary history. If signed by Governor Chris Christie, New Jersey would join the likes of Massachusetts, Delaware, New York, Oregon, and Philadelphia (as previously reported on the blog here).
China has released the three labor activists detained for investigating abusive labor practices in factories that manufacture shoes for Ivanka Trump’s line. Though Ivanka Trump has not commented on the investigators’ detention, she noted in a State Department speech on Tuesday that “ending human trafficking is a major foreign policy priority of the Trump administration.” The New York Times reports.
