More than three-quarters of Americans would blow the whistle on wrongdoing at their workplace, according to a newly released survey -- but only if they could do so anonymously, without fear of reprisal, and -- and this is a big "and" -- there was a monetary reward involved. |
More than three-quarters of Americans would blow the whistle on wrongdoing at their workplace, according to a newly released survey -- but only if they could do so anonymously, without fear of reprisal, and -- and this is a big "and" -- there was a monetary reward involved. The survey, conducted by business and securities law firm Labaton Sucharow, was designed to test public awareness of the new whistleblower program established by the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in 2010. That law strengthened whistleblower protections against retaliation and provided for financial incentives to report wrongdoing. One of the more eyebrow-raising findings of the poll was that 34 percent of respondents said they knew of "wrongdoing" in their own workplace. But 68 percent said they were not aware of the new federal whistleblower program, which is being operated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The financial incentive component of the whistleblower program is designed to give employees a substantial nudge -- if their conscience alone isn't sufficient -- when faced with the choice of reporting or not reporting wrongdoing to the feds. The program offers awards of between 10 and 30 percent in cases where information leads to an enforcement action in which over $1 million in sanctions is ordered. The SEC says the new whistleblower rules, which became effective on August 12, resulted in 334 complaints through the end of September. The most frequently reported alleged wrongdoing includes cases of market manipulation, offering fraud, insider trading, and cases involving corporate and financial disclosure. The agency received tips from 37 states, as well as several countries. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
根據(jù)一項新發(fā)布的調(diào)查,超過四分之三的美國人會告發(fā)工作場所中的不法行為,不過他們只有在匿名、不用擔心報復的情況下才會告密,而且,很重要的一點是,必須有賞金才會這么做。 2010年國會通過并經(jīng)由奧巴馬總統(tǒng)簽署的多德-弗蘭克金融改革法案創(chuàng)立了一個新告密者項目。商業(yè)和證券律師事務(wù)所Labaton Sucharow開展的這一調(diào)查是為了測試公眾對該告密者項目的意識。該法案加強了保護告密者不受報復的措施,并向告發(fā)不法行為者提供了各種經(jīng)濟獎勵。 這一民意調(diào)查讓人驚訝的發(fā)現(xiàn)之一是,34%的應(yīng)答者說,他們知道自己工作的地方存在“不法行為”。但68%的人說他們不知道聯(lián)邦政府有這個新告密者項目。該項目是由證券交易委員會運作的。 該告密者項目設(shè)立賞金的目的是在員工們猶豫要不要向聯(lián)邦政府檢舉不法行為時,如果良心的動力不足,這可以有力地推他們一把。如果告密者提供的信息所導致的制裁處罰金額超過100萬美元,該項目將向告密者發(fā)放罰金的10%到30%的賞金。 美國證券交易委員會稱,新的告密者條例于8月12日生效,到9月底已經(jīng)收到了334份控訴。最常被舉報的不法行為包括市場操縱、發(fā)行詐欺、內(nèi)幕交易,以及企業(yè)和財務(wù)資料的披露。該機構(gòu)收到了來自美國37個州、以及其他幾個國家的舉報信息。 相關(guān)閱讀 (中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 陳丹妮 編輯:Julie) |
Vocabulary: blow the whistle: 告發(fā)、檢舉 reprisal: 報復 eyebrow-raising: 讓人驚奇的 nudge: 推進;刺激 sanction: 制裁 tip: 內(nèi)部情報,秘密消息 |