I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4619 

To strengthen incentives and protections for whistleblowers in the financial 

industry and related regulatory agencies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2016 

Mr. CUMMINGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To strengthen incentives and protections for whistleblowers 

in the financial industry and related regulatory agencies, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Whistleblower Aug5 mented Reward and Nonretaliation Act of 2016’’ or the 

6 ‘‘WARN Act of 2016’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 

2 ANTI-FRAUD ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1990. 

3 (a) RIGHTS OF DECLARANTS.—Section 2565(d) of 

4 the Financial Institutions Anti-Fraud Enforcement Act of 

5 1990 (12 U.S.C. 4205(d)(1)(A)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

7 (A) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause 

8 (iii); and 

9 (B) by striking clause (i) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(i) Not less than 10 percent, in total, 

12 of what has been collected in any recovery 

13 imposed in the action or related actions. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Not more than 30 percent, in 

15 total, of what has been collected in any re16 covery imposed in the action or related ac17 tions.’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(3) APPEALS.—Any determination regarding 

21 an award under this section may, within 30 days of 

22 such determination, be appealed to the appropriate 

23 court of appeals of the United States.’’. 

24 (b) PROTECTION FOR DECLARANTS.—The Financial 

25 Institutions Anti-Fraud Enforcement Act of 1990 (12 


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1 U.S.C. 4212) is amended by striking section 2572 and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 2572. PROTECTION FOR DECLARANTS. 

4 ‘‘(a) REMEDY.—In a civil action, a person may obtain 

5 all relief necessary to make such person whole if such per6 son— 

7 ‘‘(1) was discharged, demoted, suspended, 

8 threatened, harassed, or in any other manner dis9 criminated against in the terms and conditions of 

10 employment by an employer because of lawful acts 

11 done by the person on behalf of the person or others 

12 in furtherance of a prosecution under section 215, 

13 225, 287, 656, 657, 1001, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1014, 

14 1032, 1341, 1343, 1344, or 1517 of title 18 (includ15 ing provision of information relating to, investigation 

16 for, initiation of, testimony for, or assistance in such 

17 a prosecution); and 

18 ‘‘(2) did not act without direction from his or 

19 her employer to deliberately cause the violation dis20 closed. 

21 ‘‘(b) RELIEF.—Relief under subsection (a) shall in22 clude— 

23 ‘‘(1) reinstatement with the same seniority sta24 tus; 


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1 ‘‘(2) twice the amount of back pay and interest 

2 that the plaintiff would have had but for the dis3 crimination; and 

4 ‘‘(3) compensation for any special damages sus5 tained as a result of the discrimination, including 

6 litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable 

7 attorneys fees. 

8 ‘‘(c) BURDENS OF PROOF.—Complaints for relief 

9 shall be governed by the procedures, evidentiary stand10 ards, and burdens of proof in section 1057 of the Dodd11 Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 

12 (12 U.S.C. 5567).’’. 

13 (c) EDUCATION.—Section 2573 of the Financial In14 stitutions Anti-Fraud Enforcement Act of 1990 (12 

15 U.S.C. 4213) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘The Attorney General’’ and in17 serting the following: 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(b) EDUCATION.—The Attorney General shall issue 

21 regulations requiring every employer covered by this Act 

22 to provide education and training to its employees on the 

23 rights and remedies provided under this section, including 

24 through individual notice to its employees, posting inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 27, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4619.IH H4619

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1 mation on its website homepage, and providing mandatory 

2 training for its employees.’’. 

3 (d) SHARE OF ASSETS.—Section 2580 of the Finan4 cial Institutions Anti-Fraud Enforcement Act of 1990 (12 

5 U.S.C. 4225) is amended by striking subsection (c) and 

6 inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(c) SHARE OF ASSETS.—When the United States 

8 recovers any asset or assets specifically identified in a 

9 valid declaration filed under section 4221 of this title and 

10 the Attorney General determines that the asset or assets 

11 would not have been recovered if the declaration had not 

12 been filed, the declarant shall have the right to share in 

13 the recovery in the amount of— 

14 ‘‘(1) not less than 10 percent, in total, of what 

15 has been collected in any recovery imposed in the ac16 tion or related actions; and 

17 ‘‘(2) not more than 30 percent, in total, of what 

18 has been collected in any recovery imposed in the ac19 tion or related actions.’’. 

20 (e) REVIEW OF ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

21 The Financial Institutions Anti-Fraud Enforcement Act 

22 of 1990 (12 U.S.C. 4228) is amended by striking section 

23 2583 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2583. REVIEW OF ACTION BY THE ATTORNEY GEN2 ERAL. 

3 ‘‘Any determination regarding an award under this 

4 chapter may, within 30 days of such determination, be ap5 pealed to the appropriate court of appeals of the United 

6 States.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSUR8 ANCE ACT. 

9 (a) EMPLOYEES OF DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS AND

10 BANKING AGENCIES.—Section 33(a) of the Federal De11 posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1831j(a)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

14 (A), by striking ‘‘provided information’’ and in15 serting ‘‘provided information, or refused to 

16 alter information previously provided,’’; and 

17 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘a 

18 possible violation of any law or regulation’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘a possible violation of any law, regu20 lation, or agency statement of policy’’; and 

21 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘the Corporation’’ and in23 serting ‘‘any such agency or bank’’; 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘provided information’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘provided information, or refused 

26 to alter information previously provided,’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘any possible violation of 

2 any law or regulation’’ and inserting ‘‘any pos3 sible violation of any law, regulation, or agency 

4 statement of policy’’. 

5 (b) REWARD FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO RECOV6 ERIES OR CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 34 of such Act (12 

7 U.S.C. 1831k) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(b) PERCENTAGE LIMITATION.—An appropriate 

11 Federal banking agency shall pay a reward— 

12 ‘‘(1) not less than 10 percent, in total, of what 

13 has been collected as any fine, penalty, restitution, 

14 or forfeiture imposed in the action or related ac15 tions; and 

16 ‘‘(2) not more than 30 percent, in total, of what 

17 has been collected as any fine, penalty, restitution, 

18 or forfeiture imposed in the action or related ac19 tions.’’; and 

20 (2) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(d) REVIEW.—Any determination regarding an 

23 award under this section may, within 30 days of such de24 termination, be appealed to the appropriate court of ap25 peals of the United States.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT 

2 OF 1934. 

3 (a) NARROW DEFINITION OF WHISTLEBLOWER RE4 MOVED.—Section 21F(a) of the Securities Exchange Act 

5 of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u–6(a)) is amended by striking 

6 paragraph (6). 

7 (b) DELAY.—Section 21F(c)(1)(B) of the Securities 

8 Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u–6(c)(1)(B)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in clause (i)(IV), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

11 end; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

13 clauses: 

14 ‘‘(iii) shall not deny eligibility for an 

15 award that otherwise meets the require16 ments of this section if the information 

17 that forms the basis for the award is sub18 mitted within 90 days after knowledge of 

19 disclosed misconduct; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) shall presume that reports are 

21 timely and not reduce the award due to 

22 delay, absent a finding of that disclosure 

23 was deliberately postponed ether because of 

24 culpability, interference with internal inves25 tigative processes, or attempts at self-en26 richment.’’. 


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1 (c) PROHIBITION AGAINST RETALIATION.—Section 

2 21F(h)(1)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

3 U.S.C. 78u–6(h)(1)(A)) is amended— 

4 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by strik5 ing ‘‘in the terms and conditions of employment be6 cause of any lawful act done by the whistleblower’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘with respect to compensation, terms, 

8 conditions, or privileges of employment because of 

9 any lawful act done by the applicant, employee, or 

10 former employee or perceived to have been done by 

11 the applicant, employee, or former employee (or any 

12 person acting pursuant to the request of the appli13 cant, employee, or former employee), whether at the 

14 initiative of the applicant, employee, or former em15 ployee or in the ordinary course of the duties of the 

16 applicant, employee, or former employee’’; 

17 (2) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and insert18 ing a semicolon; 

19 (3) in clause (iii) by striking the period at the 

20 end and inserting a semicolon; and 

21 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

22 clauses: 

23 ‘‘(iv) in objecting to, or refusing to 

24 participate in, any activity, policy, practice, 

25 or assigned task the applicant, employee, 


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1 or former employee (or other such person) 

2 reasonably believed to be in violation of 

3 any law, rule, order, standard, or prohibi4 tion subject to the jurisdiction of, or en5 forceable by, the Commission; or 

6 ‘‘(v) in providing, preparing to pro7 vide, or assisting in the provision of infor8 mation to the employer or a person with 

9 supervisory authority over the employee (or 

10 other such person working for the em11 ployer who has the authority to investigate, 

12 discover, or terminate misconduct) relating 

13 to any violation of, or any act or omission 

14 that the applicant, employee, or former 

15 employee believes to be a violation of, any 

16 provision of this title or any other provi17 sion of law that is subject to the jurisdic18 tion of the Commission, or any rule, order, 

19 standard, or prohibition prescribed by the 

20 Commission.’’. 

21 (d) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 21F(h)(1)(B) of the 

22 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u– 

23 6(h)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

24 new clause: 


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1 ‘‘(iv) BURDENS OF PROOF.—Except 

2 as otherwise provided in this section, com3 plaints for relief shall be governed by the 

4 procedures, evidentiary standards, and 

5 burdens of proof in section 1057 of the 

6 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Con7 sumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5567).’’. 

8 (e) RELIEF.—Section 21F(h)(1)(C) of the Securities 

9 Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u–6(h)(1)(C)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’; 

12 (2) in clause (iii) by striking the period at the 

13 end and inserting a semicolon; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

15 clauses: 

16 ‘‘(iv) compensatory damages; and 

17 ‘‘(v) punitive damages in an amount 

18 not to exceed $250,000.’’. 

19 (f) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Section 21F(h)(2) of the Se20 curities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u–6(h)(2)) 

21 is amended by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

24 subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) of this sub25 section, the Commission and any officer or emVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 27, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4619.IH H4619

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1 ployee of the Commission may not disclose any 

2 identifying information about a whistleblower 

3 who has provided information to the Commis4 sion— 

5 ‘‘(i) unless the Commission has ob6 tained the written consent of the whistle7 blower; 

8 ‘‘(ii) except in accordance with the 

9 provisions of section 552a of title 5, 

10 United States Code; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) unless required to be disclosed 

12 to a defendant or respondent in connection 

13 with a public proceeding instituted by the 

14 Commission.’’. 

15 (g) ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR WHISTLE16 BLOWERS.—Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act 

17 of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u–6) is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following new subsections: 

19 ‘‘(k) NON-WAIVERABILITY OF RIGHTS AND REM20 EDIES.—An employer may not take any action to impede 

21 an individual who is about to or has assisted or engaged 

22 in activity protected by this section, including— 

23 ‘‘(1) issuing, proposing, initiating, enforcing, or 

24 threatening to enforce, a confidentiality agreement 

25 (other than agreements dealing with information 


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1 covered by sections 240.21F–4(b)(4)(i) and 

2 240.21F–4(b)(4)(ii) of title 17, Code of Federal 

3 Regulations, as in effect on the date of the enact4 ment of this Act) with respect to such communica5 tions; 

6 ‘‘(2) initiating, enforcing, or threatening to en7 force, any agreement, policy, form, or condition of 

8 employment, including by any predispute arbitration 

9 agreement, that waives the rights and remedies pro10 vided for in this section; 

11 ‘‘(3) requiring an individual to waive, release, 

12 or assign any monetary award such individual may 

13 receive from the Commission, or conditioning an in14 dividual’s right to receive any contractual or employ15 ment-related benefit on such a waiver, release, or as16 signment; 

17 ‘‘(4) requiring an individual to disclose to any 

18 private party whether such individual has, or in the 

19 future intends to, communicate with the Commission 

20 staff about a possible commodities law violation; 

21 ‘‘(5) conditioning an individual’s right to receive 

22 any contractual or employment-related benefit on a 

23 representation that such individual has not commu24 nicated with, or provided documents or other infor25 mation, to the Commission staff; 


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1 ‘‘(6) seeking civil or criminal liability for ac2 quiring and communicating information to the Com3 mission or other activity protected by this section; 

4 ‘‘(7) seeking professional discipline through loss 

5 of license, certification, or other disciplinary activi6 ties for engaging in activity protected by this Act; 

7 ‘‘(8) seeking professional discipline of attorneys 

8 for representation of activities protected by this Act, 

9 or other action that obstructs the whistleblower’s 

10 right to counsel; or 

11 ‘‘(9) engaging in any other discrimination that 

12 would chill the exercise of activity protected by this 

13 section. 

14 ‘‘(l) INTERNAL COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS.—The Com15 mission shall issue regulations requiring each employer— 

16 ‘‘(1) to have a procedure in place for an em17 ployee or former employee to report directly to the 

18 chief executive officer, a representative appointed by 

19 and reporting directly to the chief executive officer 

20 who is specifically designated to receive such a re21 port, or through a hotline consistent with profes22 sional best practices to the audit committee of the 

23 board of directors, if such employee or former em24 ployee believes that violations of this section have ocVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 27, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4619.IH H4619

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1 curred or are occurring at the place of employment 

2 or place of former employment; and 

3 ‘‘(2) to not discriminate against an employee or 

4 former employee for such reports. 

5 ‘‘(m) EXTRATERRITORIALITY.—The protections pro6 vided by this section shall also apply to foreign nationals 

7 living outside the United States.’’. 

8 SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO THE COMMODITY EXCHANGE 

9 ACT. 

10 (a) NARROW DEFINITION OF WHISTLEBLOWER RE11 MOVED.—Section 23(a) of the Commodity Exchange Act 

12 (7 U.S.C. 26(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (7). 

13 (b) DELAY.—Section 23(c)(1)(B) of the Commodity 

14 Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 26(c)(1)(B)) is amended— 

15 (1) in clause (i)(IV), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

16 end; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

18 clauses: 

19 ‘‘(iii) shall not deny eligibility for an 

20 award that otherwise meets the require21 ments of this section if the information 

22 that forms the basis for the award is sub23 mitted within 90 days after knowledge of 

24 disclosed misconduct; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) shall presume that reports are 

2 timely and not reduce the award due to 

3 delay, absent a finding of that disclosure 

4 was deliberately postponed ether because of 

5 culpability, interference with internal inves6 tigative processes, or attempts at self-en7 richment.’’. 

8 (c) PROHIBITION AGAINST RETALIATION.—Section 

9 23(h)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 

10 26(h)(1)(A)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘in the terms and conditions of 

12 employment because of any lawful act done by the 

13 whistleblower’’ and inserting ‘‘with respect to com14 pensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employ15 ment because of any lawful act done by the appli16 cant, employee, or former employee or perceived to 

17 have been done by the applicant, employee, or 

18 former employee (or any person acting pursuant to 

19 the request of the applicant, employee, or former 

20 employee), whether at the initiative of the applicant, 

21 employee, or former employee or in the ordinary 

22 course of the duties of the applicant, employee, or 

23 former employee’’; 

24 (2) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and insert25 ing a semicolon; 


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1 (3) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the 

2 end and inserting a semicolon; and 

3 (4) by inserting the following new clauses: 

4 ‘‘(iii) in objecting to, or refusing to 

5 participate in, any activity, policy, practice, 

6 or assigned task the applicant, employee, 

7 or former employee (or other such person) 

8 reasonably believed to be in violation of 

9 any law, rule, order, standard, or prohibi10 tion subject to the jurisdiction of, or en11 forceable by, the Commission; or 

12 ‘‘(iv) in providing, preparing to pro13 vide, or assisting in the provision of infor14 mation to the employer or a person with 

15 supervisory authority over the employee (or 

16 such other person working for the em17 ployer who has the authority to investigate, 

18 discover, or terminate misconduct) relating 

19 to any violation of, or any act or omission 

20 that the whistleblower believes to be a vio21 lation of, any provision of this title or any 

22 other provision of law that is subject to the 

23 jurisdiction of the Commission, or any 

24 rule, order, standard, or prohibition pre25 scribed by the Commission.’’. 


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1 (d) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 23(h)(1)(B) of the 

2 Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 26(h)(1)(B)) is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following new clause: 

4 ‘‘(iv) BURDENS OF PROOF.—Except 

5 as otherwise provided in this section, com6 plaints for relief shall be governed by the 

7 procedures, evidentiary standards, and 

8 burdens of proof in section 1057 of the 

9 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Con10 sumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5567).’’. 

11 (e) RELIEF.—Section 23(h)(1)(C) of the Commodity 

12 Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 26(h)(1)(C)) is amended— 

13 (1) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’; 

14 (2) in clause (iii) by striking the period at the 

15 end and inserting a semicolon; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

17 clauses: 

18 ‘‘(iv) compensatory damages; and 

19 ‘‘(v) punitive damages in an amount 

20 not to exceed $250,000.’’. 

21 (f) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Section 23(h)(2) of the 

22 Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 26(h)(2)) is amend23 ed— 

24 (1) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) of this sub3 section, the Commission and any officer or em4 ployee of the Commission may not disclose any 

5 identifying information about a whistleblower 

6 who has provided information to the Commis7 sion— 

8 ‘‘(i) unless the Commission has ob9 tained the written consent of the whistle10 blower; 

11 ‘‘(ii) except in accordance with the 

12 provisions of section 552a of title 5, 

13 United States Code; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) unless required to be disclosed 

15 to a defendant or respondent in connection 

16 with a public proceeding instituted by the 

17 Commission’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(D) EXEMPTED STATUTE.—For purposes 

21 of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 

22 this paragraph shall be considered a statute de23 scribed in subsection (b)(3)(B) of such section 

24 552.’’. 


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1 (g) ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR WHISTLE2 BLOWERS.—Section 23 of the Commodity Exchange Act 

3 (7 U.S.C. 26) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing new subsections: 

5 ‘‘(o) NON-WAIVERABILITY OF RIGHTS AND REM6 EDIES.—An employer may not take any action to impede 

7 an individual who is about to or has assisted or engaged 

8 in activity protected by this section, including— 

9 ‘‘(1) issuing, proposing, initiating, enforcing, or 

10 threatening to enforce, a confidentiality agreement 

11 (other than agreements dealing with information 

12 covered by section 165.2(k) of title 17, Code of Fed13 eral Regulations, as in effect on the date of the en14 actment of this Act) with respect to such commu15 nications; 

16 ‘‘(2) initiating, enforcing, or threatening to en17 force, any agreement, policy, form, or condition of 

18 employment, including by any predispute arbitration 

19 agreement, that waives the rights and remedies pro20 vided for in this section; 

21 ‘‘(3) requiring an individual to waive, release, 

22 or assign any monetary award such individual may 

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1 ment-related benefit on such a waiver, release, or as2 signment; 

3 ‘‘(4) requiring an individual to disclose to any 

4 private party whether such individual has, or in the 

5 future intends to, communicate with the Commission 

6 staff about a possible violation of this Act; 

7 ‘‘(5) conditioning an individual’s right to receive 

8 any contractual or employment-related benefit on a 

9 representation that such individual has not commu10 nicated with, or provided documents or other infor11 mation, to the Commission staff; 

12 ‘‘(6) seeking civil or criminal liability for ac13 quiring and communicating information to the Com14 mission or other activity protected by this section; 

15 ‘‘(7) seeking professional discipline through loss 

16 of license, certification or other disciplinary activities 

17 for engaging in activity protected by this Act; 

18 ‘‘(8) seeking professional discipline of attorneys 

19 for representation of activities protected by this Act, 

20 or other action that obstructs the whistleblower’s 

21 right to counsel; or 

22 ‘‘(9) engaging in any other discrimination that 

23 would chill the exercise of activity protected by this 

24 section. 


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1 ‘‘(p) INTERNAL COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS.—The 

2 Commission shall issue regulations requiring each em3 ployer— 

4 ‘‘(1) to have a procedure in place for an em5 ployee or former employee to report directly to the 

6 chief executive officer, a representative appointed by 

7 and reporting directly to the chief executive officer 

8 who is specifically designated to receive such a re9 port, or through a hotline consistent with profes10 sional best practices to the audit committee of the 

11 board of directors, if such employee or former em12 ployee believes that a violation of this section has oc13 curred or is occurring at the place of employment or 

14 place of former employment; and 

15 ‘‘(2) to not discriminate against an employee or 

16 former employee for such reports. 

17 ‘‘(q) EXTRATERRITORIALITY.—The protections pro18 vided by this section shall also apply to foreign nationals 

19 living outside the United States.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO THE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC21 TIONS UNDER THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT. 

22 Section 1514A of title 18, United States Code, is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

2 by striking ‘‘in the terms and conditions of em3 ployment because of any lawful act done by the 

4 employee’’ and inserting ‘‘with respect to com5 pensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of 

6 employment because of any lawful act done by 

7 the applicant, employee, or former employee or 

8 perceived to have been done by the applicant, 

9 employee, or former employee (or any person 

10 acting pursuant to the request of the applicant, 

11 employee, or former employee), whether at the 

12 initiative of the applicant, employee, or former 

13 employee or in the ordinary course of the duties 

14 of the applicant, employee, or former em15 ployee’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

17 and inserting a semicolon; 

18 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe19 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

20 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) in objecting to, or refusing to participate 

22 in, any activity, policy, practice, or assigned task the 

23 applicant, employee, or former employee (or other 

24 such person) reasonably believed to be in violation of 

25 any law, rule, order, standard, or prohibition subject 


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1 to the jurisdiction of, or enforceable by, the Securi2 ties and Exchange Commission; or 

3 ‘‘(4) in providing, preparing to provide, or as4 sisting in the provision of information to the em5 ployer or a person with supervisory authority over 

6 the applicant, employee, or former employee (or such 

7 other person working for the employer who has the 

8 authority to investigate, discover, or terminate mis9 conduct) relating to any violation of, or any act or 

10 omission that the whistleblower believes to be a vio11 lation of, any provision of this title or any other pro12 vision of law that is subject to the jurisdiction of the 

13 Securities and Exchange Commission, or any rule, 

14 order, standard, or prohibition prescribed by the 

15 Commission.’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (c)(2)(B), by inserting ‘‘dou17 ble’’ before ‘‘back pay’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(3) PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—Relief for any ac21 tion under paragraph (1) may include punitive dam22 ages in an amount not to exceed $250,000.’’; and 

23 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(e) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Neither the Securities and 

25 Exchange Commission, the Secretary of Labor, nor any 


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25 

•HR 4619 IH

1 officer or employee of the Commission or the Secretary 

2 may disclose any identifying information about an em3 ployee of a company described in subsection (a) who has 

4 provided information to the Commission or the Sec5 retary— 

6 ‘‘(1) unless the Commission or the Secretary 

7 has obtained the written consent of the whistle8 blower; 

9 ‘‘(2) except in accordance with the provisions of 

10 section 552a of title 5, United States Code; or 

11 ‘‘(3) unless required to be disclosed to a defend12 ant or respondent in connection with a public pro13 ceeding instituted by the Commission or the Sec14 retary.’’. 

Æ 


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