SEC penalizes seven firms $3M total for impeding whistleblower protections
By 
Aaron Nicodemus2024-09-09T15:34:00
Seven public companies will pay a total of $3 million in fines for requiring employees to sign agreements containing provisions that impeded their ability to report misconduct to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC announced the fines Monday, alleging that the firms used “employment, separation, and other agreements that violated rules prohibiting actions to impede whistleblowers from reporting potential misconduct to the SEC.”
The firms fined were Acadia Healthcare Company will pay nearly $1.4 million, a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp., a fashion retailer, will pay nearly $400,000, AppFolio will pay $692,250, IDEX Corp., a manufacturer, will pay $75,000, LSB Industries, a chemical manufacturer, will pay $156,000, Smart for Life, a wellness retailer, will pay $19,500 and TransUnion, a credit reporting company, will pay $312,000.
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