According to WASHINGTON (Reuters):

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to broaden protections for corporate insiders who call out misconduct, ruling they must take claims of wrongdoing to the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to be shielded against retaliation.

The ruling could inhibit employees from trying to resolve complaints of wrongdoing without involving the SEC and impede retaliation suits filed by workers fired after making in-house complaints.

Backed by President Donald Trump’s administration, Somers argued that whistleblower protections must extend to those who speak up internally in order to encourage people to report misconduct without fear of being fired.

US News and World Report says:

The justices said that a part of the Dodd-Frank Act that protects whistle-blowers from being fired, demoted or harassed only applies to people who report legal violations to the SEC. They said employees who report problems to their company’s management but not the commission don’t qualify.