II 

Calendar No. 151 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1599 

To provide anti-retaliation protections for antitrust whistleblowers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2015 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

JULY 16, 2015 

Reported by Mr. GRASSLEY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To provide anti-retaliation protections for antitrust 

whistleblowers. 

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 ‘‘Criminal Antitrust 

5 Anti-Retaliation Act of 2015’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO ACPERA. 

2 The Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and 

3 Reform Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–237; 15 U.S.C. 1 

4 note) is amended by inserting after section 215 the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 216. ANTI-RETALIATION PROTECTION FOR WHISTLE7 BLOWERS. 

8 ‘‘(a) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS FOR EMPLOY9 EES, CONTRACTORS, SUBCONTRACTORS, AND AGENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No employer may dis11 charge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or in any 

12 other manner discriminate against a covered indi13 vidual in the terms and conditions of employment of 

14 the covered individual because— 

15 ‘‘(A) the covered individual provided or 

16 caused to be provided to the employer or the 

17 Federal Government information relating to— 

18 ‘‘(i) any violation of, or any act or 

19 omission the covered individual reasonably 

20 believes to be a violation of, the antitrust 

21 laws; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) any violation of, or any act or 

23 omission the covered individual reasonably 

24 believes to be a violation of, another crimi25 nal law committed in conjunction with a 

26 potential violation of the antitrust laws or 

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1 in conjunction with an investigation by the 

2 Department of Justice of a potential viola3 tion of the antitrust laws; or 

4 ‘‘(B) the covered individual filed, caused to 

5 be filed, testified, participated in, or otherwise 

6 assisted an investigation or a proceeding filed 

7 or about to be filed (with any knowledge of the 

8 employer) relating to— 

9 ‘‘(i) any violation of, or any act or 

10 omission the covered individual reasonably 

11 believes to be a violation of, the antitrust 

12 laws; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) any violation of, or any act or 

14 omission the covered individual reasonably 

15 believes to be a violation of, another crimi16 nal law committed in conjunction with a 

17 potential violation of the antitrust laws or 

18 in conjunction with an investigation by the 

19 Department of Justice of a potential viola20 tion of the antitrust laws. 

21 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON PROTECTIONS.—Para22 graph (1) shall not apply to any covered individual 

23 if— 

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1 ‘‘(A) the covered individual planned and 

2 initiated a violation or attempted violation of 

3 the antitrust laws; 

4 ‘‘(B) the covered individual planned and 

5 initiated a violation or attempted violation of 

6 another criminal law in conjunction with a vio7 lation or attempted violation of the antitrust 

8 laws; or 

9 ‘‘(C) the covered individual planned and 

10 initiated an obstruction or attempted obstruc11 tion of an investigation by the Department of 

12 Justice of a violation of the antitrust laws. 

13 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(A) ANTITRUST LAWS.—The term ‘anti15 trust laws’ means section 1 or 3 of the Sher16 man Act (15 U.S.C. 1 and 3). 

17 ‘‘(B) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term 

18 ‘covered individual’ means an employee, con19 tractor, subcontractor, or agent of an employer. 

20 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘employer’ 

21 means a person, or any officer, employee, con22 tractor, subcontractor, or agent of such person. 

23 ‘‘(D) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ has the 

24 same meaning as in subsection (a) of the first 

25 section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12(a)). 

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1 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The term ‘vio2 lation’, with respect to the antitrust laws, shall not 

3 be construed to include a civil violation of any law 

4 that is not also a criminal violation. 

5 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual who 

7 alleges discharge or other discrimination by any em8 ployer in violation of subsection (a) may seek relief 

9 under subsection (c) by— 

10 ‘‘(A) filing a complaint with the Secretary 

11 of Labor; or 

12 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary of Labor has not 

13 issued a final decision within 180 days of the 

14 filing of the complaint and there is no showing 

15 that such delay is due to the bad faith of the 

16 claimant, bringing an action at law or equity 

17 for de novo review in the appropriate district 

18 court of the United States, which shall have ju19 risdiction over such an action without regard to 

20 the amount in controversy. 

21 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A complaint filed with 

23 the Secretary of Labor under paragraph (1)(A) 

24 shall be governed under the rules and procemstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 dures set forth in section 42121(b) of title 49, 

2 United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notification made 

4 under section 42121(b)(1) of title 49, United 

5 States Code, shall be made to any individual 

6 named in the complaint and to the employer. 

7 ‘‘(C) BURDENS OF PROOF.—A complaint 

8 filed with the Secretary of Labor under para9 graph (1)(A) shall be governed by the legal bur10 dens of proof set forth in section 42121(b) of 

11 title 49, United States Code. 

12 ‘‘(D) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—A com13 plaint under paragraph (1)(A) shall be filed 

14 with the Secretary of Labor not later than 180 

15 days after the date on which the violation oc16 curs. 

17 ‘‘(E) CIVIL ACTIONS TO ENFORCE.—If a 

18 person fails to comply with an order or prelimi19 nary order issued by the Secretary of Labor 

20 pursuant to the procedures set forth in section 

21 42121(b) of title 49, United States Code, the 

22 Secretary of Labor or the person on whose be23 half the order was issued may bring a civil ac24 tion to enforce the order in the district court of 

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1 the United States for the judicial district in 

2 which the violation occurred. 

3 ‘‘(c) REMEDIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual pre5 vailing in any action under subsection (b)(1) shall be 

6 entitled to all relief necessary to make the covered 

7 individual whole. 

8 ‘‘(2) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief for any 

9 action under paragraph (1) shall include— 

10 ‘‘(A) reinstatement with the same seniority 

11 status that the covered individual would have 

12 had, but for the discrimination; 

13 ‘‘(B) the amount of back pay, with inter14 est; and 

15 ‘‘(C) compensation for any special damages 

16 sustained as a result of the discrimination in17 cluding litigation costs, expert witness fees, and 

18 reasonable attorney’s fees. 

19 ‘‘(d) RIGHTS RETAINED BY WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

20 Nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the 

21 rights, privileges, or remedies of any covered individual 

22 under any Federal or State law, or under any collective 

23 bargaining agreement.’’. 

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Criminal Antitrust 

3 Anti-Retaliation Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO ACPERA. 

5 The Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and 

6 Reform Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–237; 15 U.S.C. 1 

7 note) is amended by inserting after section 215 the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 216. ANTI-RETALIATION PROTECTION FOR WHISTLE10 BLOWERS. 

11 ‘‘(a) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS FOR EMPLOY12 EES, CONTRACTORS, SUBCONTRACTORS, AND AGENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No employer may discharge, 

14 demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other 

15 manner discriminate against a covered individual in 

16 the terms and conditions of employment of the covered 

17 individual because of any lawful act done by the cov18 ered individual— 

19 ‘‘(A) to provide or cause to be provided to 

20 the employer or the Federal Government infor21 mation relating to— 

22 ‘‘(i) any violation of, or any act or 

23 omission the covered individual reasonably 

24 believes to be a violation of, the antitrust 

25 laws; or 

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1 ‘‘(ii) any violation of, or any act or 

2 omission the covered individual reasonably 

3 believes to be a violation of, another crimi4 nal law committed in conjunction with a 

5 potential violation of the antitrust laws or 

6 in conjunction with an investigation by the 

7 Department of Justice of a potential viola8 tion of the antitrust laws; or 

9 ‘‘(B) to cause to be filed, testify in, partici10 pate in, or otherwise assist a Federal Govern11 ment investigation or a Federal Government pro12 ceeding filed or about to be filed (with any 

13 knowledge of the employer) relating to— 

14 ‘‘(i) any violation of, or any act or 

15 omission the covered individual reasonably 

16 believes to be a violation of, the antitrust 

17 laws; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) any violation of, or any act or 

19 omission the covered individual reasonably 

20 believes to be a violation of, another crimi21 nal law committed in conjunction with a 

22 potential violation of the antitrust laws or 

23 in conjunction with an investigation by the 

24 Department of Justice of a potential viola25 tion of the antitrust laws. 

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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON PROTECTIONS.—Paragraph 

2 (1) shall not apply to any covered individual if— 

3 ‘‘(A) the covered individual planned and 

4 initiated a violation or attempted violation of 

5 the antitrust laws; 

6 ‘‘(B) the covered individual planned and 

7 initiated a violation or attempted violation of 

8 another criminal law in conjunction with a vio9 lation or attempted violation of the antitrust 

10 laws; or 

11 ‘‘(C) the covered individual planned and 

12 initiated an obstruction or attempted obstruction 

13 of an investigation by the Department of Justice 

14 of a violation of the antitrust laws. 

15 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(A) ANTITRUST LAWS.—The term ‘anti17 trust laws’ means section 1 or 3 of the Sherman 

18 Act (15 U.S.C. 1 and 3). 

19 ‘‘(B) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘cov20 ered individual’ means an employee, contractor, 

21 subcontractor, or agent of an employer. 

22 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘employer’ 

23 means a person, or any officer, employee, con24 tractor, subcontractor, or agent of such person. 

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1 ‘‘(D) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

2 ‘Federal Government’ means— 

3 ‘‘(i) a Federal regulatory or law en4 forcement agency; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) any Member of Congress or com6 mittee of Congress. 

7 ‘‘(E) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ has the 

8 same meaning as in subsection (a) of the first 

9 section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12(a)). 

10 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The term ‘viola11 tion’, with respect to the antitrust laws, shall not be 

12 construed to include a civil violation of any law that 

13 is not also a criminal violation. 

14 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual who al16 leges discharge or other discrimination by any em17 ployer in violation of subsection (a) may seek relief 

18 under subsection (c) by— 

19 ‘‘(A) filing a complaint with the Secretary 

20 of Labor; or 

21 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary of Labor has not 

22 issued a final decision within 180 days of the fil23 ing of the complaint and there is no showing 

24 that such delay is due to the bad faith of the 

25 claimant, bringing an action at law or equity 

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1 for de novo review in the appropriate district 

2 court of the United States, which shall have ju3 risdiction over such an action without regard to 

4 the amount in controversy. 

5 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A complaint filed with 

7 the Secretary of Labor under paragraph (1)(A) 

8 shall be governed under the rules and procedures 

9 set forth in section 42121(b) of title 49, United 

10 States Code. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notification made under 

12 section 42121(b)(1) of title 49, United States 

13 Code, shall be made to any individual named in 

14 the complaint and to the employer. 

15 ‘‘(C) BURDENS OF PROOF.—A complaint 

16 filed with the Secretary of Labor under para17 graph (1)(A) shall be governed by the legal bur18 dens of proof set forth in section 42121(b) of title 

19 49, United States Code. 

20 ‘‘(D) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—A com21 plaint under paragraph (1)(A) shall be filed 

22 with the Secretary of Labor not later than 180 

23 days after the date on which the violation occurs. 

24 ‘‘(E) CIVIL ACTIONS TO ENFORCE.—If a 

25 person fails to comply with an order or prelimimstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 nary order issued by the Secretary of Labor pur2 suant to the procedures set forth in section 

3 42121(b) of title 49, United States Code, the Sec4 retary of Labor or the person on whose behalf the 

5 order was issued may bring a civil action to en6 force the order in the district court of the United 

7 States for the judicial district in which the viola8 tion occurred. 

9 ‘‘(c) REMEDIES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual pre11 vailing in any action under subsection (b)(1) shall be 

12 entitled to all relief necessary to make the covered in13 dividual whole. 

14 ‘‘(2) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief for any 

15 action under paragraph (1) shall include— 

16 ‘‘(A) reinstatement with the same seniority 

17 status that the covered individual would have 

18 had, but for the discrimination; 

19 ‘‘(B) the amount of back pay, with interest; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(C) compensation for any special damages 

22 sustained as a result of the discrimination in23 cluding litigation costs, expert witness fees, and 

24 reasonable attorney’s fees. 

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1 ‘‘(d) RIGHTS RETAINED BY WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

2 Nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the 

3 rights, privileges, or remedies of any covered individual 

4 under any Federal or State law, or under any collective 

5 bargaining agreement.’’. 

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Calendar No. 151 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1599 

A BILL 

To provide anti-retaliation protections for antitrust 

whistleblowers. 

JULY 16, 2015 

Reported with an amendment 

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