[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1524 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1524
To ensure that whistleblowers, including contractors, are protected
from retaliation when a Federal employee orders a reprisal, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 10, 2023
Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Braun) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure that whistleblowers, including contractors, are protected
from retaliation when a Federal employee orders a reprisal, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Whistleblower Protections
for Contractors Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. DEFENSE CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES: PROTECTION FROM REPRISAL FOR
DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.
Section 4701 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A)--
(I) by striking ``An employee'' and
all that follows through ``services
contractor'' and inserting ``A
protected individual''; and
(II) by striking ``disclosing'' and
all that follows through ``evidence
of''; and
(ii) by striking subparagraphs (A), (B),
and (C) and inserting the following
subparagraphs:
``(A) Objecting or refusing to participate in any activity,
policy, practice, or assigned task that the protected
individual reasonably believes to be in violation of any law,
rule, order, or regulation related to any contract,
subcontract, grant, or subgrant.
``(B) Disclosing to a person or body described in paragraph
(2) information that the protected individual reasonably
believes is evidence of the following:
``(i) Gross mismanagement of any Department of
Defense contract or grant, any gross waste of
Department funds, any abuse of authority relating to
any Department contract, subcontract, grant, or
subgrant, or any violation of law, rule, or regulation
related to any Department contract or subcontract
(including the competition for or negotiation of a
contract or subcontract) or grant or subgrant.
``(ii) Gross mismanagement of any National
Aeronautics and Space Administration contract or grant,
any gross waste of Administration funds, any abuse of
authority relating to an Administration contract,
subcontract, grant, or subgrant, or any violation of
law, rule, or regulation related to any Administration
contract or subcontract (including the competition for
or negotiation of a contract or subcontract) or grant
or subgrant.
``(iii) A substantial and specific danger to public
health or safety.''; and
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``an
employee'' and inserting ``a protected
individual''; and
(ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and
inserting the following subparagraph:
``(B) it shall not be within the authority of an executive
branch official to request that a contractor, subcontractor,
grantee, or subgrantee engage in a reprisal prohibited by
paragraph (1).'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the
following subparagraph:
``(E) Propose appropriate disciplinary action against any
executive branch official for any request made of a contractor,
subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee that subjected the
complainant to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (a).''; and
(B) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the
following paragraph:
``(7) Clarification for Scope of Waiver Restrictions.--(A) The
rights, forum, and remedies provided for in this section may not be
waived by any public or private agreement, policy, form, or condition
of employment, including by any predispute arbitration agreement.
``(B) No predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or
enforceable if it requires arbitration of a dispute arising under this
section.'';
(3) in subsection (f)--
(A) by striking ``an employee'' and inserting ``a
protected individual''; and
(B) by striking ``the employee'' and inserting
``the protected individual'';
(4) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h);
(5) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new
subsection:
``(g) Affirmative Defense.--Engaging in any activity protected
against reprisal under this section shall be an affirmative defense in
any civil or criminal action that seeks liability for engaging in such
activity.''; and
(6) in subsection (h), as so redesignated--
(A) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``, including
any `Federal award' as defined in section 2(a) of the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of
2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note)'' after ``agency'';
(B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``, including
any person that is recipient of a `Federal award' as
defined in section 2(a) of the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C.
6101 note)'' after ``agency''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(8) The term `protected individual' means--
``(A) a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or
subgrantee of the Department of Defense or the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, including--
``(i) the government of each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other
territory or possession of the United States;
``(ii) the government of any political
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality
of, a government listed in clause (i); and
``(iii) any entity that is recipient of a
`Federal award' as defined in section 2(a) of
the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note);
``(B) an employee, applicant, or former employee of
a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee of
the Department of Defense or the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, including an employee of--
``(i) the government of each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other
territory or possession of the United States;
and
``(ii) the government of any political
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality
of, a government listed in clause (i); or
``(C) a person performing personal services for the
Department of Defense or the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration pursuant to a contractual
agreement for the performance of personal services,
including a personal services contract or personal
services agreement, and who engages in an activity for
which any reprisal is prohibited under subsection (a),
including a person performing personal services
pursuant such a contractual agreement for--
``(i) the government of each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other
territory or possession of the United States;
and
``(ii) the government of any political
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality
of, a government listed in clause (i).''.
SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF NON-DEFENSE CONTRACTOR PROTECTION FROM REPRISAL
FOR DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.
Section 4712 of title 41, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the
following paragraph:
``(1) In general.--A protected individual may not be
discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a
reprisal for the following:
``(A) Objecting or refusing to participate in any
activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that the
protected individual reasonably believes to be in
violation of any law, rule, order, or regulation
related to any contract, subcontract, grant, or
subgrant.
``(B) Disclosing to a person or body described in
paragraph (2) information that the protected individual
reasonably believes is evidence of the following:
``(i) Gross mismanagement of any Federal
contract or grant, any gross waste of Federal
funds, any abuse of authority relating to any
Federal contract, subcontract, grant, or
subgrant, or any violation of law, rule, or
regulation related to any Federal contract or
subcontract (including the competition for or
negotiation of a contract or subcontract) or
grant or subgrant.
``(ii) A substantial and specific danger to
public health or safety.''; and
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``an
employee'' and inserting ``a protected
individual''; and
(ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and
inserting the following subparagraph:
``(B) it shall not be within the authority of an
executive branch official to request that a contractor,
subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee engage in a
reprisal prohibited by paragraph (1).'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the
following new subparagraph:
``(E) Propose appropriate disciplinary action
against any executive branch official for any request
made of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or
subgrantee that subjected the complainant to a reprisal
prohibited by subsection (a).''; and
(B) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the
following paragraph:
``(7) Rights, forum, and remedies not waivable.--
``(A) In general.--The rights, forum, and remedies
provided for in this section may not be waived by any
public or private agreement, policy, form, or condition
of employment, including by any predispute arbitration
agreement.
``(B) Validity.--No predispute arbitration
agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires
arbitration of a dispute arising under this section.'';
(3) in subsection (e)--
(A) by striking ``an employee'' and inserting ``a
protected individual''; and
(B) by striking ``the employee'' and inserting
``the protected individual'';
(4) in subsection (g)--
(A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph
(3);
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following
new paragraph (2):
``(2) The term `contract' includes any `Federal award' as
defined in section 2(a) of the Federal Funding Accountability
and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).''; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (3), as so
redesignated, the following new paragraph:
``(4) The term `protected individual' means--
``(A) a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or
subgrantee of the Federal Government, including--
``(i) the government of each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other
territory or possession of the United States;
``(ii) the government of any political
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality
of, a government listed in clause (i); and
``(iii) any entity that is recipient of a
`Federal award' as defined in section 2(a) of
the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note);
``(B) an employee, applicant, or former employee of
a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee of
the Federal Government, including an employee of--
``(i) the government of each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other
territory or possession of the United States;
and
``(ii) the government of any political
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality
of, a government listed in clause (i); or
``(C) a person performing personal services for the
Federal Government pursuant to a contractual agreement
for the performance of personal services, including a
personal services contract or personal services
agreement, including a person performing personal
services pursuant to such a contractual agreement for--
``(i) the government of each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other
territory or possession of the United States;
and
``(ii) the government of any political
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality
of, a government listed in clause (i).'';
(5) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and
(6) by inserting after subsection (g) the following new
subsection:
``(h) Affirmative Defense.--Engaging in any activity protected
against reprisal under this section shall be an affirmative defense in
any civil or criminal action that seeks liability for engaging in such
activity.''.
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