I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10118 

To provide incentives for and protect whistleblowers under the authority 

of the Federal Trade Commission, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2024 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself and Mrs. TRAHAN) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 provide incentives for and protect whistleblowers under 

the authority of the Federal Trade Commission, 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 ‘‘FTC Whistleblower 

5 Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS. 

7 (a) PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION.—A covered 

8 entity may not, directly or indirectly, discharge, demote, 


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1 suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other manner dis2 criminate or take an adverse personnel action against an 

3 individual (or a group of individuals) because the indi4 vidual (or group of individuals) does any of the following: 

5 (1) Makes (or the covered entity suspects the 

6 individual or group of individuals has made or will 

7 make) a covered disclosure to— 

8 (A) a qualified entity; 

9 (B) a person with supervisory authority 

10 over the individual (or group of individuals); or 

11 (C) another individual working for the cov12 ered entity who the individual (or group of indi13 viduals) reasonably believes has the authority to 

14 investigate, discover, or terminate the alleged 

15 violation in the covered disclosure or to take 

16 any other action to address such violation. 

17 (2) Initiates, testifies, assists, or participates 

18 (or the covered entity expects will initiate, testify, 

19 assist, or participate) in an investigation conducted 

20 by a qualified entity or a judicial or administrative 

21 proceeding brought by a qualified entity relating to 

22 a covered violation. 

23 (3) Objects to, or refuses to participate in, any 

24 activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that the 


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1 individual (or group of individuals) reasonably be2 lieves is an alleged covered violation. 

3 (b) ENFORCEMENT.— 

4 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION.—A whistleblower who 

5 alleges discharge or other discrimination by a cov6 ered entity in violation of subsection (a)— 

7 (A) may bring an action governed by the 

8 procedures and burdens of proof in section 

9 4712 of title 41, United States Code; or 

10 (B) may bring an action in the appropriate 

11 district court of the United States— 

12 (i) for the relief described in sub13 section (c); 

14 (ii) governed by the burdens of proof 

15 in section 1221(e) of title 5, United States 

16 Code; and 

17 (iii) in which the whistleblower shall 

18 be entitled to a trial by jury. 

19 (2) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—An action under para21 graph (1) may not be brought— 

22 (i) more than 6 years after the date 

23 on which the violation of subsection (a) oc24 curred; or 


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1 (ii) more than 3 years after the date 

2 on which facts material to the right of ac3 tion are known or reasonably should have 

4 been known by the whistleblower alleging a 

5 violation of subsection (a). 

6 (B) REQUIRED ACTION WITHIN 10

7 YEARS.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), an 

8 action under paragraph (1) may not be brought 

9 more than 10 years after the date on which the 

10 violation of subsection (a) occurred. 

11 (3) WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—The 

12 rights and remedies provided in this section may not 

13 be waived by any policy, written document, or other 

14 condition relating to employment, including by a 

15 predispute arbitration agreement. 

16 (4) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS.— 

17 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 

18 predispute arbitration agreement may not be en19 forced with respect to an action under paragraph 

20 (1). 

21 (5) RESTRICTIVE COVENANT AGREEMENTS.— 

22 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an 

23 agreement in which a whistleblower is restrained by 

24 the covered entity that was the subject of a covered 


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1 disclosure from exercising a lawful profession, trade, 

2 or business of any kind may not be enforced. 

3 (c) RELIEF.—Relief for any whistleblower who pre4 vails in an action brought under subsection (b)(1) shall 

5 include— 

6 (1) reinstatement with the same seniority status 

7 that the whistleblower would have had but for the 

8 discharge or discrimination; 

9 (2) 3 times the amount of back pay owed to the 

10 whistleblower, with interest; and 

11 (3) consequential and compensatory damages 

12 and compensation for litigation costs, expert witness 

13 fees, and reasonable attorneys’ fees. 

14 (d) COMMUNICATIONS.— 

15 (1) PROHIBITION ON IMPEDING COVERED DIS16 CLOSURE.—A covered entity may not take any ac17 tion that impedes or prevents an individual from 

18 communicating directly with a qualified entity about 

19 a covered disclosure, including enforcing, or threat20 ening to enforce, a confidentiality or non-disparage21 ment agreement. 

22 (2) COMMUNICATION WITH QUALIFIED ENTI23 TIES.—A covered entity may not require the consent 

24 of the counsel of the covered entity for a qualified 

25 entity to communicate directly with an individual or 


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1 the attorney of an individual (if the individual is rep2 resented by an attorney) regarding a possible cov3 ered disclosure. 

4 (3) ENFORCEMENT BY COMMISSION.— 

5 (A) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC6 TICES.—A violation of paragraph (1) or (2) 

7 shall be treated as a violation of a regulation 

8 under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 

9 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) re10 garding unfair or deceptive acts or practices. 

11 (B) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—The Com12 mission shall enforce paragraphs (1) and (2) in 

13 the same manner, by the same means, and with 

14 the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as 

15 though all applicable terms and provisions of 

16 the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

17 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a 

18 part of this subsection, and any person who vio19 lates paragraph (1) or (2) shall be subject to 

20 the penalties and entitled to the privileges and 

21 immunities provided in the Federal Trade Com22 mission Act. 

23 (e) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

24 (1) REQUIREMENT.—The Commission, any em25 ployee of the Commission, and any other entity to 


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1 which the Commission communicates may not dis2 close any information provided to the Commission, 

3 including information provided by a whistleblower, 

4 that could reasonably be expected to reveal the iden5 tity of a whistleblower. 

6 (2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

7 (1), if release of the information described in para8 graph (1) is required by law, the whistleblower shall 

9 receive timely advance notice before such release. 

10 (3) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—This para11 graph may not be construed to prohibit— 

12 (A) any disclosure described in section 

13 21(d) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

14 U.S.C. 57b–2(d)); 

15 (B) a disclosure to any officer or employee 

16 of a Federal or State law enforcement agency 

17 or a foreign law enforcement agency under sec18 tion 6(f) or 21(b)(6) of the Federal Trade Com19 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 46(f), 57b–2(b)(6)); or 

20 (C) a disclosure to which the whistleblower 

21 consents. 

22 (f) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

23 (1) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—Nothing in this 

24 section may be construed to diminish the rights, 

25 privileges, or remedies of any whistleblower under 


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1 any Federal or State law relating to collective bar2 gaining or under any collective bargaining agree3 ment. 

4 (2) OTHER WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS.— 

5 (A) Nothing in this section may be con6 strued to preempt or supersede any other Fed7 eral or State law relating to whistleblower pro8 tections. 

9 (B) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

10 law, a whistleblower shall be immune from civil 

11 and criminal liability for making a covered dis12 closure if the whistleblower would be protected 

13 from reprisal under section (a). The whistle14 blower shall bear the burden required under 

15 subsection (b) of proving that the whistleblower 

16 would be protected from reprisal under sub17 section (a) for making the disclosure. This sec18 tion does not provide a defense against activi19 ties unrelated to conduct protected under sub20 section (a). 

21 (3) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION.—Nothing in 

22 this section may be construed to limit the authority 

23 of the Commission under any other provision of law. 

24 SEC. 3. INCENTIVES FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS. 

25 (a) AWARDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a whistleblower (or group 

2 of whistleblowers) voluntarily provides to the Com3 mission original information regarding an alleged 

4 covered violation and such original information leads 

5 to the successful resolution of a covered action, the 

6 Commission, subject to subsection (b), shall pay an 

7 award to the whistleblower (or group of whistle8 blowers) in an aggregate amount of— 

9 (A) not less than 10 percent, in total, of 

10 collected monetary sanctions imposed as a re11 sult of the relevant covered action; and 

12 (B) not more than 30 percent, in total, of 

13 collected monetary sanctions imposed as a re14 sult of the relevant covered action. 

15 (2) PAYMENT OF AWARDS.—Any amount paid 

16 under paragraph (1) shall be paid from the Fund. 

17 (b) DETERMINATION AND DENIAL OF AWARDS.— 

18 (1) DETERMINATION OF AWARDS.— 

19 (A) DISCRETION.—The determination of 

20 the amount of an award to be made pursuant 

21 to subsection (a) shall be within the discretion 

22 of the Commission (subject to the requirements 

23 described in subsection (a)). 


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1 (B) CRITERIA.—In determining an award 

2 to be made pursuant to subsection (a), the 

3 Commission— 

4 (i) shall take into consideration— 

5 (I) the significance of the original 

6 information provided by the whistle7 blower to the successful resolution of 

8 the covered action; 

9 (II) the degree of assistance pro10 vided by the whistleblower and any 

11 legal representative of the whistle12 blower in the covered action; and 

13 (III) such additional factors as 

14 the Commission may establish; and 

15 (ii) shall not take into consideration 

16 the balance of the Fund. 

17 (2) DENIAL OF AWARDS.—Notwithstanding 

18 subsection (a), the Commission shall deny an award 

19 to any whistleblower to whom an award otherwise 

20 would be made pursuant to subsection (a) if the 

21 whistleblower— 

22 (A) is convicted of a criminal violation re23 lated to the relevant covered action; 

24 (B) acts without direction from a covered 

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1 erately cause or substantially contribute to the 

2 alleged covered violation underlying the relevant 

3 covered action; 

4 (C) fails to provide the relevant original in5 formation to the Commission in the form the 

6 Commission requires; and 

7 (D) was, at the time the whistleblower ac8 quired the relevant original information, a 

9 member, officer, or employee of the Commission 

10 or a law enforcement agency and acquired the 

11 information while acting in the normal course 

12 of the employment duties of the whistleblower. 

13 (c) REPRESENTATION.— 

14 (1) PERMITTED REPRESENTATION.—A whistle15 blower may be represented by counsel. 

16 (2) REQUIRED REPRESENTATION.— 

17 (A) ANONYMOUS CLAIMS.—Any whistle18 blower who anonymously makes a claim for an 

19 award under subsection (a) shall be represented 

20 by counsel if the whistleblower anonymously 

21 submits the original information upon which the 

22 claim is based. 

23 (B) DISCLOSURE OF IDENTITY.—Before 

24 the payment of an award described in subpara25 graph (A), the whistleblower shall disclose the 


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1 identity of the whistleblower and provide such 

2 other information as the Commission may re3 quire, directly or through counsel for the whis4 tleblower. 

5 (d) NO CONTRACT NECESSARY.—A contract with the 

6 Commission is not necessary for a whistleblower to receive 

7 an award pursuant to subsection (a). 

8 (e) PROVISION OF FALSE INFORMATION.—A whistle9 blower who knowingly and intentionally makes any false, 

10 fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or 

11 who knowingly and intentionally makes or uses any false 

12 writing or document containing any false, fictitious, or 

13 fraudulent statement or entry, may not receive an award 

14 pursuant to subsection (a). 

15 (f) APPEALS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any determination made 

17 under this section, including whether, to whom, or in 

18 what amount to make an award, shall be in the dis19 cretion of the Commission. 

20 (2) APPEALS.—Any determination made by the 

21 Commission under this section may be appealed by 

22 a whistleblower to the appropriate court of appeals 

23 of the United States not later than 30 days after the 

24 date on which the determination is issued by the 

25 Commission. 


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1 (3) REVIEW.—The court shall review the deter2 mination made by the Commission in accordance 

3 with section 706 of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (g) FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION CONSUMER PRO5 TECTION FUND.— 

6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

7 the Treasury of the United States a Fund to be 

8 known as the ‘‘Federal Trade Commission Consumer 

9 Protection Fund’’. 

10 (2) USE OF FUND.—The Fund shall be avail11 able to the Commission, without further appropria12 tion or fiscal year limitation, in order to pay for 

13 awards made to whistleblowers pursuant to sub14 section (a). 

15 (3) DEPOSITS AND CREDITS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—There shall be depos17 ited into or credited to the Fund an amount 

18 equal to any monetary sanctions collected by 

19 the Commission in any covered action, unless 

20 the balance of the Fund at the time the mone21 tary sanction is collected exceeds $500,000,000. 

22 (B) ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.—If the 

23 amounts deposited into or credited to the Fund 

24 under subparagraph (A) are not sufficient to 

25 pay an award made pursuant to subsection (a), 


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1 there shall be deposited into or credited to the 

2 Fund an amount equal to the unsatisfied por3 tion of the award from any monetary sanctions 

4 collected by the Commission in the covered ac5 tion on which the award is based. 

6 (4) INVESTMENTS.— 

7 (A) AMOUNTS IN FUND.—The Commission 

8 may request the Secretary of the Treasury to 

9 invest the portion of the Fund that is not re10 quired to meet the current needs of the Fund 

11 (as determined by the Commission). 

12 (B) ELIGIBLE INVESTMENTS.—Invest13 ments shall be made by the Secretary of the 

14 Treasury in obligations of the United States or 

15 obligations that are guaranteed as to principal 

16 and interest by the United States, with matu17 rities suitable to the needs of the Fund (as de18 termined by the Commission). 

19 (C) INTEREST AND PROCEEDS CRED20 ITED.—The interest on, and the proceeds from, 

21 the sale or redemption of any obligations held 

22 in the Fund shall be credited to, and form a 

23 part of, the Fund. 

24 (5) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

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1 mit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

2 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

3 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen4 ate a report on— 

5 (A) the whistleblower award program es6 tablished under this section, including a de7 scription of the number of awards made pursu8 ant to subsection (a) and the types of cases in 

9 which such awards were made during the pre10 ceding fiscal year; 

11 (B) the balance of the Fund at the begin12 ning of the preceding fiscal year; 

13 (C) the amounts deposited into or credited 

14 to the Fund during the preceding fiscal year; 

15 (D) the amount of earnings on investments 

16 of amounts in the Fund during the preceding 

17 fiscal year; 

18 (E) the amount paid from the Fund to pay 

19 for awards made to whistleblowers pursuant to 

20 subsection (a) during the preceding fiscal year; 

21 (F) the balance of the Fund at the end of 

22 the preceding fiscal year; and 

23 (G) a complete set of audited financial 

24 statements, including a balance sheet, income 

25 statement, and cash flow analysis. 


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1 (h) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

2 (1) ORIGINAL INFORMATION.—Original infor3 mation submitted to the Commission by a whistle4 blower in accordance with the requirements of this 

5 section shall not lose the status as original informa6 tion solely because the whistleblower submitted the 

7 information before the effective date of any regula8 tion issued under this Act if the information was 

9 submitted after the date of the enactment of this 

10 Act. 

11 (2) AWARDS.—A whistleblower— 

12 (A) may receive an award pursuant to sub13 section (a) regardless of whether the alleged 

14 covered violation underlying the covered action 

15 occurred before the date of the enactment of 

16 this Act; and 

17 (B) may receive an award pursuant to sub18 section (a) before the Commission promulgates 

19 any regulation pursuant to this Act. 

20 SEC. 4. RULEMAKING. 

21 The Commission may promulgate, under section 553 

22 of title 5, United States Code, any regulations the Com23 mission determines necessary to carry out the provisions 

24 of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

4 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

5 (2) COVERED ACTION.—The term ‘‘covered ac6 tion’’ means any administrative or judicial action or 

7 proceeding, including any related administrative or 

8 judicial action, brought by the Commission, or by 

9 the Attorney General on behalf of the Commission, 

10 in relation to a covered violation and that results in 

11 monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000. 

12 (3) COVERED DISCLOSURE.—The term ‘‘cov13 ered disclosure’’ means a formal or informal commu14 nication or transmission that an individual reason15 ably believes relates to an alleged covered violation, 

16 including such a communication or transmission of 

17 such a violation that is part of the normal employ18 ment duties of the individual. 

19 (4) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en20 tity’’ means an entity or individual that is subject to 

21 the jurisdiction of the Commission. 

22 (5) COVERED VIOLATION.—The term ‘‘covered 

23 violation’’ means— 

24 (A) a violation of any law, rule, or regula25 tion enforced by the Commission; or 


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1 (B) a violation of any order of the Com2 mission after such order has become final and 

3 while such order is in effect. 

4 (6) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Fed5 eral Trade Commission Consumer Protection Fund 

6 established pursuant to section 3(g). 

7 (7) MONETARY SANCTIONS.—The term ‘‘mone8 tary sanctions’’, with respect to a covered action— 

9 (A) means monies, including penalties, 

10 disgorgement, or interest, ordered or agreed to 

11 be paid as a result of such action; and 

12 (B) does not include restitution (as deter13 mined by the Commission) for losses of, or re14 lief necessary to redress injury to, consumers, 

15 other persons, partnerships, and corporations. 

16 (8) ORIGINAL INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘origi17 nal information’’ means information that— 

18 (A) is derived from the independent knowl19 edge or analysis of a whistleblower; 

20 (B) is not known to the Commission from 

21 any other source, unless the whistleblower is the 

22 original source of the information; and 

23 (C) is not exclusively derived from an alle24 gation made in a judicial or an administrative 

25 action, governmental report, hearing, audit, or 


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1 investigation, or from the news media, unless 

2 the whistleblower is a source of the information. 

3 (9) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 

4 entity’’ means— 

5 (A) the Commission; 

6 (B) an agency (as defined in section 551 

7 of title 5, United States Code) or a law enforce8 ment agency; or 

9 (C) any Member of Congress or committee 

10 of Congress. 

11 (10) RELATED ADMINISTRATIVE OR JUDICIAL

12 ACTION.—The terms ‘‘related administrative action’’ 

13 and ‘‘related judicial action’’ include any action 

14 brought by any appropriate Federal authority, a 

15 State Attorney General in connection with any 

16 criminal investigation, or any appropriate State reg17 ulatory authority that is based upon the original in18 formation provided by a whistleblower that leads to 

19 the successful enforcement of the action by the Com20 mission or the Attorney General on behalf of the 

21 Commission. 

22 (11) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘‘whistle23 blower’’ means— 

24 (A) an individual (or group of individuals) 

25 who is a current or former full-time, part-time, 


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1 or temporary employee, contractor, subcon2 tractor (at any tier), grantee, subgrantee, or 

3 agent of a covered entity or employee of a con4 tractor or subcontractor (at any tier) of the 

5 covered entity and who engages in any of the 

6 conduct described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) 

7 of section 2(a), including as part of the employ8 ment duties of such individual or group; or 

9 (B) any person that assists any such indi10 vidual or group with such conduct. 

Æ 


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