Professor Dennis J. Ventry, Jr. Publishes Op-Ed with JURIST

Professor Dennis J. Ventry, Jr. analyzes the recent SCOTUS decision Digital Realty Trust Inc. v. Somers for JURIST.

The U.S. Supreme Court voted 9-0 to narrow the definition of “whistleblower” for purposes of qualifying for protections against employer retaliation for reporting securities law violations. As a result of the decision, whistleblower employees only receive anti-retaliation under the Dodd-Frank whistleblower statute if they report allegations to the Securities and Exchange Commission, a change that Ventry argued is bad for employers, internal compliance programs, and lawyers. 

“First, while the decision was a win for the employer-defendant in this particular case,” Ventry wrote, “it will negatively affect employers more generally and undercut companies' internal compliance programs. Second, the ruling unequivocally harms employee whistleblowers who are obligated by law to report legal violations of employers internally before reporting outside the organization. Chief among these employees are lawyers, duty-bound to report legal violations up the ladder before, if ever, reporting to outside authorities.”

Professor Ventry is an expert in tax policy and legal ethics. His research interests include tax expenditure analysis, family taxation, professional responsibility and standards of care, tax filing and administration, tax compliance, public finance, and tax and legal history. In addition, he is Chairman of the IRS Advisory Council, and co-author on the casebook, Federal Income Taxation with Martin McMahon, Jr., Daniel L. Simmons, and Bradley T. Borden.