S. 2258 

One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty 

An Act 

To provide anti-retaliation protections for antitrust whistleblowers. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2019’’. 

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO ACPERA. 

The Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act 

of 2004 (Public Law 108–237; 15 U.S.C. 1 note) is amended by 

inserting after section 215 the following: 

‘‘SEC. 216. ANTI-RETALIATION PROTECTION FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS. 

‘‘(a) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, SUBCONTRACTORS, AND AGENTS.— 

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

suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other manner discriminate 

against a covered individual in the terms and conditions of 

employment of the covered individual because of any lawful 

act done by the covered individual— 

‘‘(A) to provide or cause to be provided to the Federal 

Government or a person with supervisory authority over 

the covered individual (or such other person working for 

the employer who has the authority to investigate, discover, 

or terminate misconduct) information relating to— 

‘‘(i) any violation of, or any act or omission the 

covered individual reasonably believes to be a violation 

of, the antitrust laws; or 

‘‘(ii) any violation of, or any act or omission the 

covered individual reasonably believes to be a violation 

of, another criminal law committed in conjunction with 

a potential violation of the antitrust laws or in conjunction with an investigation by the Department of Justice 

of a potential violation of the antitrust laws; or 

‘‘(B) to cause to be filed, testify in, participate in, 

or otherwise assist a Federal Government investigation 

or a Federal Government proceeding filed or about to be 

filed (with any knowledge of the employer) relating to— 

‘‘(i) any violation of, or any act or omission the 

covered individual reasonably believes to be a violation 

of, the antitrust laws; or 

‘‘(ii) any violation of, or any act or omission the 

covered individual reasonably believes to be a violation 
S. 2258—2 

of, another criminal law committed in conjunction with 

a potential violation of the antitrust laws or in conjunction with an investigation by the Department of Justice 

of a potential violation of the antitrust laws. 

‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON PROTECTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

apply to any covered individual if— 

‘‘(A) the covered individual planned and initiated a 

violation or attempted violation of the antitrust laws; 

‘‘(B) the covered individual planned and initiated a 

violation or attempted violation of another criminal law 

in conjunction with a violation or attempted violation of 

the antitrust laws; or 

‘‘(C) the covered individual planned and initiated an 

obstruction or attempted obstruction of an investigation 

by the Department of Justice of a violation of the antitrust 

laws. 

‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

‘‘(A) ANTITRUST LAWS.—The term ‘antitrust laws’ 

means section 1 or 3 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 

and 3). 

‘‘(B) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘covered individual’ means an employee, contractor, subcontractor, or 

agent of an employer. 

‘‘(C) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘employer’ means a person, 

or any officer, employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent 

of such person. 

‘‘(D) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘Federal 

Government’ means— 

‘‘(i) a Federal regulatory or law enforcement 

agency; or 

‘‘(ii) any Member of Congress or committee of Congress. 

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

as in subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton 

Act (15 U.S.C. 12(a)). 

‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The term ‘violation’, with 

respect to the antitrust laws, shall not be construed to include 

a civil violation of any law that is not also a criminal violation. 

‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual who alleges discharge or other discrimination by any employer in violation 

of subsection (a) may seek relief under subsection (c) by— 

‘‘(A) filing a complaint with the Secretary of Labor; 

or 

‘‘(B) if the Secretary of Labor has not issued a final 

decision within 180 days of the filing of the complaint 

and there is no showing that such delay is due to the 

bad faith of the claimant, bringing an action at law or 

equity for de novo review in the appropriate district court 

of the United States, which shall have jurisdiction over 

such an action without regard to the amount in controversy. 

‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A complaint filed with the Secretary 

of Labor under paragraph (1)(A) shall be governed under 

the rules and procedures set forth in section 42121(b) of 

title 49, United States Code. 
S. 2258—3 

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

42121(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, shall be made 

to any individual named in the complaint and to the 

employer. 

‘‘(C) BURDENS OF PROOF.—An action brought under 

paragraph (1)(B) shall be governed by the legal burdens 

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

States Code. 

‘‘(D) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—A complaint under 

paragraph (1)(A) shall be filed with the Secretary of Labor 

not later than 180 days after the date on which the violation occurs. 

‘‘(E) CIVIL ACTIONS TO ENFORCE.—If a person fails to 

comply with an order or preliminary order issued by the 

Secretary of Labor pursuant to the procedures set forth 

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

Secretary of Labor or the person on whose behalf the 

order was issued may bring a civil action to enforce the 

order in the district court of the United States for the 

judicial district in which the violation occurred. 

‘‘(c) REMEDIES.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual prevailing in any 

action under subsection (b)(1) shall be entitled to all relief 

necessary to make the covered individual whole. 

‘‘(2) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief for any action under 

paragraph (1) shall include— 

‘‘(A) reinstatement with the same seniority status that 

the covered individual would have had, but for the discrimination; 

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

‘‘(C) compensation for any special damages sustained 

as a result of the discrimination including litigation costs, 

expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney’s fees. 

‘‘(d) RIGHTS RETAINED BY WHISTLEBLOWERS.—Nothing in this 

section shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies of any covered individual under any Federal or State law, 

or under any collective bargaining agreement.’’. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.