Law360, New York ( December 18, 2014, 12:01 PM EST) -- Since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, there has been widespread disagreement as to whether the law's anti-retaliation provisions protect employees who report violations of securities laws within their organizations. The controversy stems from an apparent ambiguity in the definition of the term "whistleblower" for purposes of the anti-retaliation protections. While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and several courts have found that Dodd-Frank was clearly meant to cover internal whistleblowers, there is a deepening split on the issue among the federal courts. On Dec. 4, 2014, in Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy LLC, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York became the latest court to hold that Dodd-Frank only covers employees who report suspected violations of securities laws to the SEC. The split among the courts has created tremendous uncertainty for employers, whistleblowers and their counsel....