Smith & Wesson Beats Bribery Whistleblower’s Retaliation Suit

A former Smith & Wesson Inc. employee failed to convince the First Circuit that the company retaliated against him in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act because he reported to human resources that company managers were taking bribes from a vendor.

The statute’s whistleblower protection provision, 18 U.S.C. §1514A, required Earl Baker to allege he was fired because he engaged in a protected activity, which is defined as reporting a violation of certain fraud provisions, “any rule or regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any provision of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders,” the US Court of ...