ARB CASE NOS. 06-054
ALJ CASE NO. 05-SOX-072
DATE: September 24, 2007
In the Matter of:
ROSEMARY O’MAHONY,
COMPLAINANT,
v.
ACCENTURE LTD.,
RESPONDENT.
BEFORE: THE ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BOARD
FINAL ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL
On March 24, 2005,
the Complainant, Rosemary O’Mahony, filed a complaint with the United States
Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration alleging
that her employer, Accenture, Ltd., had retaliated against her in violation of
the whistleblower protection provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
(SOX).[1]
On January 20, 2006, a Department of Labor Administrative Law Judge issued an
Order of Dismissal in this case. O’Mahony filed a petition for review with the
Administrative Review Board on January 26, 2006. The Secretary of Labor has
delegated to the Board her authority to issue final agency decisions under SOX.[2]
On August 16, 2007,
the Board received a letter from O’Mahony’s counsel indicating that she
“intends to file an action for de novo review in the appropriate
District Court of the United States.” If the Board has not
issued a final decision within 180 days of the date on which the complainant
filed the complaint and there is no showing that the complainant has acted in
bad faith to delay the proceedings, the complainant may bring an action at law
or equity for de novo review in the appropriate United States district court, which will have
jurisdiction over the action without regard to the amount in
[Page 2]
controversy.[3] Accordingly, we ordered the parties to show
cause no later than September 7, 2007, why the Board
should not dismiss O’Mahony’s appeal pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1980.114.
Neither
party has responded to the Board’s Order. Accordingly, we DISMISS
O’Mahony’s appeal.
SO ORDERED.
M. CYNTHIA DOUGLASS
Chief Administrative Appeals Judge
OLIVER M. TRANSUE
Administrative Appeals Judge
[1] 18 U.S.C.A. § 1514A (West 2002).
[2] Secretary’s
Order No. 1-2002, 67 Fed. Reg. 64,272 (Oct. 17, 2002); 29 C.F.R. §
1980.110(a)(2007).
[3] 18 U.S.C.A. §
1514A(b)(1)(B); 29 C.F.R. § 1980.114. As is the usual case, by the time the
Board received the petition for review, the 180-day period for deciding the
case had already expired.
