More than two years after proposing them, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a series of amendments Wednesday to its whistleblower program that were designed to make the issuance of awards more streamlined and efficient. An amendment that addressed the agency’s evaluation of large awards, however, was excoriated by two commissioners and some whistleblower advocates.
The approval came in the form of a split vote—as it is with nearly every contentious issue before the SEC—with Chairman Jay Clayton, listed as Independent, joined by Republican Commissioners Hester Peirce and Elad Roisman in approving the amended rules. Democratic Commissioners Allison Herren Lee and Caroline Crenshaw, who just joined the Commission in August, voted no.
