By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Asset manager BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) will pay a $340,000 penalty to settle charges that it improperly required parting employees to sign agreements forcing them to waive their rights to recover whistleblower awards, U.S. regulators said on Tuesday.
In settling the case, BlackRock became the latest in a growing list of companies accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of stifling participation in the agency's whistleblower program.
BlackRock settled the case without admitting or denying the charges.
"We are pleased to resolve this matter," said BlackRock spokesman Ed Sweeney in a statement.
"We removed the language at issue from our form separation agreement prior to being contacted by the SEC and there was no finding that this provision ever prevented an employee from communicating with the agency.”
The SEC in 2011 adopted rules designed to encourage people to come forward with tips about possible corporate wrongdoing. The rules also protect whistleblowers from retaliation.
Since 2015, the SEC has been particularly focused on confidentiality agreements that muzzle whistleblowers from sharing tips with the government, or separation agreements that ask employees to waive their right to recover awards.
The SEC previously conducted a sweep that scrutinized separation agreements at a variety of companies, and the results are bearing some fruit.
Since then, the SEC has charged a variety of firms, from small ones like BlueLinx Holdings to larger ones including Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Anheuser-Busch InBev, with violating the rules by using restrictive language in employee agreements.