http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1514A
The S-O Act protects employee of public traded company, as well as its private contractors and subcontractors. (On Mar 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that the whistleblower protection provisions of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act cover employees of a public company’s private contractors and subcontractors. See http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2014/03/04/whistleblower-ruling-means-new-risks-for-private-companies/). LZ is definitely covered under the statute.
However, the remedy is merely monetary, without any criminal sanction. LZ's lawyer is likely aware of this provision and stated the likely outcome would be a settlement of one year's back pay.
