New Whistleblower Protection Bill Heads to Oval Office

Back in June 2016, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that would provide greater protections to whistleblowers across the country. The bill is now on its way to desk of President Barack Obama, who’s expected to sign it into law before his time is office ends January 20.

If approved, the new law would make permanent all the existing protections afforded to federal government contractors, subcontractors, grantees and sub-grantees who act as whistleblowers. Those protections were set to expire next year. The law would also prohibit contractors from being reimbursed for any money they spend defending against whistleblower retaliation claims.

The federal government has a very large workforce of contractors, but for a long time those contractors have not had the same whistleblower protections as government employees. In many cases, it is these contractors who are the ones to discover waste, abuse of power, fraud and other wrongdoing within government agencies, so it is imperative they have these protections. The legislation received overwhelming bipartisan support.

Whistleblower protections on the rise

It has never been safer and more advantageous for individuals with information about government or corporate wrongdoing to come forward and report it to regulatory authorities. With each passing year, more whistleblower protection laws go into effect, and whistleblowers are receiving larger awards when authorities like the Securities and Exchange Commission are able to implement sanctions on guilty parties.

To learn more about these programs and the protections you may receive if you expose wrongdoing within your business or organization, speak with a skilled Dallas attorney at Whistleblower Law for Managers.