Whistleblower Protection Coordination Act Public Law 115–192 Whistleblower Protection Coordination Act 192 115–192 Statute Compilation United States House of Representatives Office of the Legislative Counsel text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. GPO Statute Compilations USLM converter, version 20210527.1 2023-03-17 Whistleblower Protection Coordination Act 17343 115 2018-06-25 Whistleblower Protection Coordination Act [(Public Law 115–192)] [This law has not been amended] [Currency: This publication is a compilation of the text of Public Law 115-192. It was last amended by the public law listed in the As Amended Through note above and below at the bottom of each page of the pdf version and reflects current law through the date of the enactment of the public law listed at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/comps/] [Note: While this publication does not represent an official version of any Federal statute, substantial efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of its contents. The official version of Federal law is found in the United States Statutes at Large and in the United States Code. The legal effect to be given to the Statutes at Large and the United States Code is established by statute (1 U.S.C. 112, 204).]
AN ACTTo reauthorize and rename the position of Whistleblower Ombudsman to be the Whistleblower Protection Coordinator.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 “Whistleblower Protection Coordination Act”.
SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION. (a) In General.—Section 3(d) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)(C)— (A) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) and (II), respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly; (B) by striking “Ombudsman who shall educate agency employees—” and inserting the following:“Coordinator who shall— “(i) educate agency employees—” ; (C) in subclause (I), as so redesignated, by striking “on retaliation” and inserting “against retaliation”; (D) in subclause (II), as so redesignated, by striking the period at the end and inserting the following:“, including— “(aa) the means by which employees may seek review of any allegation of reprisal, including the roles of the Office of the Inspector General, the Office of Special Counsel, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and any other relevant entities; and “(bb) general information about the timeliness of such cases, the availability of any alternative dispute mechanisms, and avenues for potential relief.” ; and (E) by adding at the end the following: “(ii) assist the Inspector General in promoting the timely and appropriate handling and consideration of protected disclosures and allegations of reprisal, to the extent practicable, by the Inspector General; and “(iii) assist the Inspector General in facilitating communication and coordination with the Special Counsel, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, the establishment, Congress, and any other relevant entity regarding the timely and appropriate handling and consideration of protected disclosures, allegations of reprisal, and general matters regarding the implementation and administration of whistleblower protection laws, rules, and regulations.” ; (2) in paragraph (2), by striking “Ombudsman” and inserting “Coordinator”; (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: “(3) The Whistleblower Protection Coordinator shall have direct access to the Inspector General as needed to accomplish the requirements of this subsection.” . (b) Responsibilities of CIGIE.—Section 11(c) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(5) Additional responsibilities relating to whistleblower protection.—The Council shall— “(A) facilitate the work of the Whistleblower Protection Coordinators designated under section 3(d)(C); and “(B) in consultation with the Office of Special Counsel and Whistleblower Protection Coordinators from the member offices of the Inspector General, develop best practices for coordination and communication in promoting the timely and appropriate handling and consideration of protected disclosures, allegations of reprisal, and general matters regarding the implementation and administration of whistleblower protection laws, in accordance with Federal law.” . (c) Reporting.—Section 5 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph (20) to read as follows: “(20)(A) a detailed description of any instance of whistleblower retaliation, including information about the official found to have engaged in retaliation; and “(B) what, if any, consequences the establishment actually imposed to hold the official described in subparagraph (A) accountable;” ; and (2) in subsection (b)— (A) in paragraph (3)(D), by striking “and” at the end; (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following: “(4) whether the establishment entered into a settlement agreement with the official described in subsection (a)(20)(A), which shall be reported regardless of any confidentiality agreement relating to the settlement agreement; and” . (d) Repeal of Sunset.— (1) In general.—Subsection (c) of section 117 of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-199; 126 Stat. 1475) is repealed. (2) Retroactive effective date.—The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take effect on November 26, 2017.