To ensure that whistleblowers, including contractors, are protected from retaliation when a Federal employee orders a reprisal, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReported by Mr. Paul, with an amendment
Mr. Peters introduced the following bill; which was read twice …
Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill strengthens whistleblower protections for employees of federal contractors and grantees. It expands the definition of "protected individuals" to include employees of subcontractors and subgrantees, and specifically prohibits executive branch officials from ordering retaliation against whistleblowers who report waste, fraud, or abuse.
Who Benefits and How
Federal contractor and grantee employees benefit from stronger legal protections when they report wrongdoing, including the ability to refuse illegal orders and protection from reprisals ordered by government officials. Whistleblower attorneys benefit from expanded caseload opportunities. The public benefits from improved accountability in federal spending.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal contractors and subcontractors face expanded compliance obligations and potential liability for retaliating against whistleblowers. Executive branch officials face new restrictions and potential disciplinary action for ordering reprisals. Defense contractors in particular face heightened scrutiny given the specific amendments to defense contracting law.
Key Provisions
- Expands protected class to include subcontractor and subgrantee employees
- Prohibits executive branch officials from requesting contractor reprisals against whistleblowers
- Provides for disciplinary action against officials who order reprisals
- Makes whistleblower rights non-waivable in employment agreements
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Expands whistleblower protections for federal contractors, subcontractors, grantees, and subgrantees to include protection from retaliation by executive branch officials
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Close loopholes in existing whistleblower law by expanding coverage to subgrantees and prohibiting government-ordered retaliation"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "protected_individual"
- → Employee of DoD or NASA contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee
- "protected_individual"
- → Employee of any federal contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Employee of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee (broader than previous "employee of contractor")
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology