[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 22, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5474-S5475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CRIMINAL ANTITRUST ANTI-RETALIATION ACT OF 2015

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 151, S. 1599.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1599) to provide anti-retaliation protections 
     for antitrust whistleblowers.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, with an 
amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Criminal Antitrust Anti-
     Retaliation Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO ACPERA.

       The Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act 
     of 2004 (Public Law 108-237; 15 U.S.C. 1 note) is amended by 
     inserting after section 215 the following:

     ``SEC. 216. ANTI-RETALIATION PROTECTION FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS.

       ``(a) Whistleblower Protections for Employees, Contractors, 
     Subcontractors, and Agents.--
       ``(1) In general.--No employer may discharge, demote, 
     suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other manner 
     discriminate against a covered individual in the terms and 
     conditions of employment of the covered individual because of 
     any lawful act done by the covered individual--
       ``(A) to provide or cause to be provided to the employer or 
     the Federal Government information relating to--
       ``(i) any violation of, or any act or omission the covered 
     individual reasonably believes to be a violation of, the 
     antitrust laws; or
       ``(ii) any violation of, or any act or omission the covered 
     individual reasonably believes to be a violation of, another 
     criminal law committed in conjunction with a potential 
     violation of the antitrust laws or in conjunction with an 
     investigation by the Department of Justice of a potential 
     violation of the antitrust laws; or
       ``(B) to cause to be filed, testify in, participate in, or 
     otherwise assist a Federal Government investigation or a 
     Federal Government proceeding filed or about to be filed 
     (with any knowledge of the employer) relating to--
       ``(i) any violation of, or any act or omission the covered 
     individual reasonably believes to be a violation of, the 
     antitrust laws; or
       ``(ii) any violation of, or any act or omission the covered 
     individual reasonably believes to be a violation of, another 
     criminal law committed in conjunction with a potential 
     violation of the antitrust laws or in conjunction with an 
     investigation by the Department of Justice of a potential 
     violation of the antitrust laws.
       ``(2) Limitation on protections.--Paragraph (1) shall not 
     apply to any covered individual if--
       ``(A) the covered individual planned and initiated a 
     violation or attempted violation of the antitrust laws;
       ``(B) the covered individual planned and initiated a 
     violation or attempted violation of another criminal law in 
     conjunction with a violation or attempted violation of the 
     antitrust laws; or
       ``(C) the covered individual planned and initiated an 
     obstruction or attempted obstruction of an investigation by 
     the Department of Justice of a violation of the antitrust 
     laws.
       ``(3) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(A) Antitrust laws.--The term `antitrust laws' means 
     section 1 or 3 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 and 3).
       ``(B) Covered individual.--The term `covered individual' 
     means an employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent of an 
     employer.
       ``(C) Employer.--The term `employer' means a person, or any 
     officer, employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent of 
     such person.
       ``(D) Federal government.--The term `Federal Government' 
     means--
       ``(i) a Federal regulatory or law enforcement agency; or
       ``(ii) any Member of Congress or committee of Congress.
       ``(E) Person.--The term `person' has the same meaning as in 
     subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act (15 
     U.S.C. 12(a)).
       ``(4) Rule of construction.--The term `violation', with 
     respect to the antitrust laws, shall not be construed to 
     include a civil violation of any law that is not also a 
     criminal violation.
       ``(b) Enforcement Action.--
       ``(1) In general.--A covered individual who alleges 
     discharge or other discrimination by any employer in 
     violation of subsection (a) may seek relief under subsection 
     (c) by--
       ``(A) filing a complaint with the Secretary of Labor; or
       ``(B) if the Secretary of Labor has not issued a final 
     decision within 180 days of the filing of the complaint and 
     there is no showing that such delay is due to the bad faith 
     of the claimant, bringing an action at law or equity for de 
     novo review in the appropriate district court of the United 
     States, which shall have jurisdiction over such an action 
     without regard to the amount in controversy.
       ``(2) Procedure.--
       ``(A) In general.--A complaint filed with the Secretary of 
     Labor under paragraph (1)(A) shall be governed under the 
     rules and procedures set forth in section 42121(b) of title 
     49, United States Code.
       ``(B) Exception.--Notification made under section 
     42121(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, shall be made to 
     any individual named in the complaint and to the employer.
       ``(C) Burdens of proof.--A complaint filed with the 
     Secretary of Labor under paragraph (1)(A) shall be governed 
     by the legal burdens of proof set forth in section 42121(b) 
     of title 49, United States Code.
       ``(D) Statute of limitations.--A complaint under paragraph 
     (1)(A) shall be filed with the Secretary of Labor not later 
     than 180 days after the date on which the violation occurs.
       ``(E) Civil actions to enforce.--If a person fails to 
     comply with an order or preliminary order issued by the 
     Secretary of Labor pursuant to the procedures set forth in 
     section 42121(b) of title 49, United States Code, the 
     Secretary of Labor or the person on whose behalf the order 
     was issued may bring a civil action to enforce the order in 
     the district court of the United States for the judicial 
     district in which the violation occurred.
       ``(c) Remedies.--
       ``(1) In general.--A covered individual prevailing in any 
     action under subsection (b)(1) shall be entitled to all 
     relief necessary to make the covered individual whole.
       ``(2) Compensatory damages.--Relief for any action under 
     paragraph (1) shall include--
       ``(A) reinstatement with the same seniority status that the 
     covered individual would have had, but for the 
     discrimination;
       ``(B) the amount of back pay, with interest; and
       ``(C) compensation for any special damages sustained as a 
     result of the discrimination including litigation costs, 
     expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney's fees.
       ``(d) Rights Retained by Whistleblowers.--Nothing in this 
     section shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, 
     or remedies of any covered individual under any Federal or 
     State law, or under any collective bargaining agreement.''.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I applaud the Senate is passing bipartisan 
legislation that will protect employees who blow the whistle on 
criminal antitrust violations. The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation 
Act is legislation that I have worked on with Senator Grassley for 
three Congresses now. This is the second Congress in a row that the 
Senate has passed it unanimously. The bill is an extension of my 
longstanding partnership with Senator Grassley on whistleblower issues.
  Our bipartisan bill provides meaningful protections to employees who 
blow the whistle on the worst forms of anticompetitive behavior such as 
price fixing. Whistleblowers play an important role in alerting the 
public, Congress, and law enforcement agencies to wrongdoing in a 
number of areas. They often take significant risks in making these 
disclosures and can be the target of retaliation. The Criminal 
Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act prohibits employers from retaliating 
against employees who alert the company, Congress, or law enforcement 
of criminal activity.
  Senator Grassley and I modeled this legislation on the whistleblower 
protections we authored as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The 
protections are narrowly tailored and do not provide whistleblowers 
with an economic incentive to bring forth false claims. Last Congress, 
we made modest changes to the bill in the Judiciary Committee to 
improve the definition of a covered individual and to clarify that 
protections only apply to employees reporting criminal violations. This 
Congress, we made additional refinements in the Judiciary Committee to 
further clarify the scope of the bill. The protections in this bill 
build on recommendations from key stakeholders in a 2011 Government 
Accountability Office report to Congress.
  Consumers benefit from competitive markets and the antitrust laws 
serve to safeguard competition. By protecting those who would blow the 
whistle on criminal antitrust behavior, our bill will help facilitate 
the reporting of these kinds of violations. I urge the House to pass 
this bipartisan legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that a letter in support of the bill from the 
National Whistleblowers Center be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

[[Page S5475]]

                                National Whistleblower Center,

                                    Washington, DC, July 17, 2015.
     Re Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2015.

     Hon. Charles E. Grassley,
     Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Patrick Leahy,
     Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators, I am writing to you in support of the 
     Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2015. This 
     legislation will extend whistleblower protection for 
     employees who provide information to the Department of 
     Justice related to criminal antitrust violations. This Bill 
     will create, for the first time, whistleblower protections 
     for employees who report antitrust violations.
       The protections in this bill were recommend by the 
     Government Accountability Office in a 2011 report and will 
     plug a loophole in the patchwork of whistleblower protection 
     that currently exists. Current laws in place do not provide 
     any protections for innocent third parties who blow the 
     whistle on criminal antitrust activity. The proposed Bill 
     will allow employees to file an action with the Department of 
     Labor in the event that they are retaliated against for 
     reporting criminal violations of the antitrust laws.
       Numerous studies have shown that employees are the first 
     defense to prevent fraud and white-collar crime. Such crimes 
     harm businesses, consumers, and our economy. Investigators 
     rely heavily on information from insiders to protect the 
     public interest and prevent illegal competitive practices. 
     The brave individuals that report antitrust violations should 
     be protected.
       This is a narrow but important bill that will help to 
     improve enforcement of the antitrust laws.
                                                  Stephen M. Kohn,
                                               Executive Director.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to; the bill, as 
amended, be read a third time and passed; and the motion to reconsider 
be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
agreed to.
  The bill (S. 1599), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

                          ____________________