An essential aspect of the Dodd-Frank Act is the whistleblower provision, which encourages employees to report potential fraud or wrongdoing in their companies internally or to the Securities and Exchange Commission. But in order to go out on a limb and report suspicious activities, employees would want to ensure that they are protected from retaliation.

Whether they are, though, appears to be a sticky matter. There have been conflicting rulings coming from circuit and district courts that are in direct opposition. For example, in one case involving a whistleblower from General Electric, the 5th Circuit Court ruled that employees had to report to the SEC directly in order to be protected from retaliation.

On the other hand, at least six U.S. district-court judges have ruled otherwise. Most recently, a U.S. district court judge in Massachusetts ruled on a case involving Richard Ellington, who reported suspected securities violations to the SEC after he was fired from New England Investment and Retirement Group. The judge rejected the argument that Ellington was ineligible because he reported the violations after he was fired.