Sarbanes-Oxley Section 806, at 18 U.S.C. 1514A, is the whistleblower anti-retaliation provision. Almost every item is a number Dodd-Frank changed or a channel candidates wrongly narrow.
Who is covered
Companies with securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or required to file reports under Section 15(d), and any officer, employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent of such a company. Dodd-Frank extended coverage to consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates and to nationally recognized statistical rating organizations.
There is no employee-count threshold: 15 employees is Title VII's rule, not this one. Contractors are expressly covered, and Section 15(d) filers count even without exchange-traded stock.
What is protected
Providing information to (A) a federal regulatory or law enforcement agency, (B) any Member or committee of Congress, or (C) a person with supervisory authority over the employee, or another person with authority to investigate, discover, or terminate misconduct.
An internal report to your own supervisor is protected. No SEC filing, no writing to the audit committee, no required order among the three channels.
Deadline and filing
- 180 days after the violation occurs or after the employee became aware of it. The 2002 original was 90 days; Dodd-Frank extended it. A March 1 termination gives a last day around August 28, not May 30.
- File with OSHA, not the SEC, under 29 CFR 1980.103, orally or in writing, with OSHA reducing oral complaints to writing. No form, no attorney, no internal hotline first.
Burdens and remedies
The complainant shows the protected activity was a contributing factor; the employer escapes liability only by clear and convincing evidence it would have acted the same anyway (29 CFR 1980.104(e) and 1980.109, adopting the AIR21 framework at 49 U.S.C. 42121(b)). Not sole cause, and never a mere preponderance for the employer.
Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, 601 U.S. 23 (2024) held unanimously that the whistleblower need make no showing of retaliatory intent.
OSHA issues written findings within 60 days of filing (29 CFR 1980.105(a)). Preliminary-order remedies: reinstatement with the same seniority status, back pay with interest, and special damages including litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney fees. No $300,000 cap applies.
Keep the two numbers apart: 180 days to file, 60 days for findings.