'How employers win' | U.S. Supreme Court justices skeptical of high bar for whistleblower lawsuits

Several U.S. Supreme Court justices appear to be leaning toward rejecting an effort by UBS Group to make it more difficult for financial whistleblowers to prove retaliation claims.

As per Reuters, the court heard oral arguments in an appeal by Trevor Murray, a former UBS bond strategist who claims that he was unlawfully fired for refusing to publish misleading research reports and complaining about being pressured to do so.

A jury awarded Murray $1.7 million, but the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year overturned the verdict. The court said the jury should have been instructed that in order to hold UBS liable under the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), Murray had to prove that the company acted with retaliatory intent.

The ruling created a split with at least two other appeals courts that have said the lack of intent can be raised as a defense in a SOX case, but must be proven by the defendant.