A recent federal district court decision wedged open a little bit wider the door for workers trying to sue their employers under the whistleblower protections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Observers say the ruling, Oโ€™Mahony v. Accenture Ltd., is the first to hold that the whistleblower provisions of SOX apply to an employee working overseas for a U.S. subsidiary of a foreign-based corporation.