The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amended its rules to provide further incentives to whistleblowers, particularly in cases involving large payouts or multiple federal agencies.

The final rule, which will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, allows the commission to increase the dollar amount of an award but removes its authority to decrease it, according to an SEC fact sheet. The current rule provides whistleblowers with 10-30 percent of monetary sanctions collected in any enforcement action over $1 million for which the whistleblower provided relevant and timely information to help investigators make a case.

In 2020, the Republican-led SEC under former Chair Jay Clayton amended its whistleblower rules to potentially limit large payouts. In February, current SEC Chair Gary Gensler indicated the agency under Democratic control would seek to unwind those changes.