Some new developments from the Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower front: A judge has applied the provision to a mutual fund (mutual fund news) for the first time, and several whistleblowers (whistleblower news) have won awards and reinstatement from judges and OSHA. Taken together, you have to wonder if these are signs of more teeth in whistleblower protection programs. 

In a case involving mutual fund behemoth Fidelity Investments, a federal judge has applied the whistleblower provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley to employees of mutual fund companies. The law of course was designed to apply to publically traded companies. But the issue of whether Sarbanes-Oxley applies to funds has long been debated in the industry. Reuters notes that mutual fund companies have long argued they should be exempt because the funds themselves technically have no workers apart from their directors and instead hire fund advisors to manage funds. 

In the Fidelity case, plaintiff Jackie Hosang Lawson, who worked at the giant firm from 1993 until 2007, said she alerted supervisors to problems, including the alleged improper retention of $10 million in fees, only to be threatened with punishment. The other plaintiff, Jonathan Zang, who managed funds from 1998 to 2005, said Fidelity (Fidelity news) gave him poor reviews and fired him in retaliation for his complaints about a new pay plan for Fidelity portfolio managers, which illegally described how pay was calculated. Fidelity argued that Lawson and Zang worked for affiliates and therefore should not be able to avail themselves of Sarbox. We'll have to see where this leads. As of now, a judge has ruled the Sarbox applies. 

Another case is inching closer to a happy outcome for Amy Stroupe, a former corporate investigator for BB&T. The bank fired her in 2007 after she uncovered a sizable fraud. According to the Winston Salem Journal, she uncovered a Ponzi scheme involving a real estate development company that state officials shut down in 2007, calling it one of the largest fraud cases in state history. It was found to have stolen $100 million from investors. She says the bank fired her for her investigative work. 

A federal administrative-law judge ruled last week that BB&T must rehire her and pay her three years of back pay with interest. BB&T, however, will likely fight the ruling. 

The bank claims that Stroupe was fired because she was told not discuss her investigations with other employees and to not talk about a regional bank manager with whom she had had several conflicts and because she missed a half-day of work without approval. The judge found the claims dubious. 

In general, it remains to be seen if Sarbanes-Oxley whistle blowers will fare any better in the new administration. But it is worth watching. It's also worth noting that OSHA rulings have led to two awards in March for $1.6 million. Both included reinstatement. And there are signs that SEC whistle blowers may get better treatment at some point, as a report has called for the agency to improve its bounty program. Some people are wondering how the Lehman Brothers (Lehman Brothers news) accountant whistle blower case will turn out. - Jim