Supreme Court: Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protections Apply Only to SEC Complaints

In Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Summers, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the anti-retaliation provisions in Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Act apply only to whistleblowing of violations of the securities laws to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and not to internal whistleblowing to company personnel.  The SEC thus chose the narrower interpretation of the Dodd-Frank provision, and effectively cut off its use when the whistleblowing is internal and not to the SEC.