Whistleblower Who Reported Internally Loses Bid for SEC Award

A woman who filed an internal complaint with her company alleging misconduct isn’t entitled to an SEC award because she didn’t report the information directly to the commission, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission didn’t abuse its discretion when it refused to exempt the worker, identified pseudonymously as Jane Doe, from the rule requiring direct submission within 120 days of an internal report, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said. The ruling is unsigned and unpublished.

The commission’s “reasoning—directly keyed to the statute’s explicit demand that a whistleblower provide information ...