Corporations in Connecticut and elsewhere have an obligation to disclose pertinent information to shareholders and federal regulators. A new whistleblower tip filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by a former Tesla Inc. employee has raised concerns about the accuracy of disclosures made to shareholders and the SEC. The man behind the allegations worked as a Security Control Center Supervisor, and his claims validate a previous whistleblower tip made in August 2018.
The latest whistleblower tip questioned the legitimacy of the proposal circulating in 2018 that the company would be taken private. The whistleblower said that many people had doubts about the proposal. A lawsuit later filed by the SEC against the company’s leader Elon Musk asserted that he had made “false and misleading statements” concerning investors’ interest in making the private deal.
The allegations made in August accused Tesla of withholding information from shareholders about the theft of raw materials. A statement from the man’s legal representatives claimed that the company monitored employees without authorization and even hacked their cellphones and computers to collect information. Tesla also reportedly failed to tell federal authorities about drug trafficking activity at the company’s Gigafactory.
Reporting an employer’s potentially illegal conduct could expose a person to retaliation and job loss. The law, however, recognizes that people should have protection when they engage in lawful activity like informing authorities about a company’s misdeeds. Various laws apply to specific industries, like the Federal Rail Safety Act. An attorney may provide a person with information about legal rights when acting as a whistleblower. Legal action may enable a person to reverse punishments like job loss or demotion. A financial settlement that includes lost pay, legal costs and punitive damages might also emerge from litigation.