Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act of 2009
Latest action · Oct 1, 2009 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedOct 1, 2009
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to repeal and replace provisions prohibiting reprisals against employees of government contractors for disclosing to a federal official information relating to a substantial violation of law related to a public contract.
Prohibits an employee of any non-federal employer receiving covered funds (i.e., a contract, grant, or other payment any portion of of which is provided by the federal government) from being discriminated against as a reprisal for initiating or participating in any proceeding related to the misuse of federal funds, reasonably opposing the misuse of federal funds, or disclosing to specified federal agencies or officials information that the employee reasonably believes is evidence of: (1) gross mismanagement of an agency contract or grant relating to covered funds; (2) a gross waste of covered funds; (3) a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or an abuse of authority, related to the implementation or use of covered funds; or (4) a violation of a law, rule, or regulation related to an agency contract, subcontract, or grant relating to covered funds.
Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) time limitations for agency inspector general determinations regarding whether to conduct or continue an investigation of a reprisal complaint; (2) the right of a complainant to pursue a civil remedy if an inspector general decides not to conduct or continue an investigation or an agency denies relief or fails to act with specified periods; (3) a complainant's access to the inspector general's investigative file; (4) the standard of proof for a reprisal; (5) agency actions to deny relief or to remedy a reprisal, including by requiring a compliance program to ensure that an employer commits no further retaliation or by requiring the employee to be paid ten times the amount of lost wages and other compensatory damages where the reprisal is found to have been willful, wanton, or malicious; and (6) non-enforceability of certain provisions waiving rights and remedies or requiring arbitration of disputes.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Nov 2, 2009.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-VA | Jim Webb | Nov 2, 2009 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | Referred Oct 1, 2009 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 1, 2009Introduced in Senate
- Oct 1, 2009Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to expand whistleblower protections to non-Federal employees whose disclosures involve misuse of Federal funds.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act of 2009
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Civil actions and liability
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government studies and investigations
- Judicial review and appeals
- Public contracts and procurement
- State and local government operations
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 1, 2009Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
