I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6093 

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 30, 2021 

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

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, 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 2021’’. 

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, blacklist, or in any other man2 ner discriminate or take an adverse personnel action 

3 against an individual, or any person perceived as assisting 

4 the individual, who does any of the following: 

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

6 individual has made or will make) a covered disclo7 sure to— 

8 (A) a qualified entity; 

9 (B) a person with supervisory authority 

10 over the individual; or 

11 (C) another individual who the individual 

12 reasonably believes has the authority to inves13 tigate, discover, or terminate the violation in 

14 the covered disclosure or to take any other ac15 tion to address the violation in the covered dis16 closure. 

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

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

19 assist, or participate) in an investigation or judicial 

20 or administrative proceeding by a qualified entity. 

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

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

23 individual (or other such person) reasonably believes 

24 is a potential or suspected violation of any law, rule, 

25 or regulation enforced by the Commission. 


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1 (b) ENFORCEMENT.— 

2 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION.—An individual who al3 leges a violation of subsection (a) may bring an ac4 tion under this subsection in the appropriate district 

5 court of the United States for the relief provided in 

6 subsection (c). 

7 (2) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—An action under this 

9 subsection may not be brought— 

10 (i) more than 6 years after the date 

11 on which the violation of subsection (a) oc12 curred; or 

13 (ii) more than 3 years after the date 

14 on which facts material to the right of ac15 tion are known or reasonably should have 

16 been known by the whistleblower alleging a 

17 violation of subsection (a). 

18 (B) REQUIRED ACTION WITHIN 10

19 YEARS.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), an 

20 action under this subsection may not in any cir21 cumstance be brought more than 10 years after 

22 the date on which the violation occurs. 

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

24 rights and remedies provided for in this section may 

25 not be waived by any policy form or condition of emVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Dec 09, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6093.IH H6093

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1 ployment, including by a predispute arbitration 

2 agreement. 

3 (4) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS.— 

4 A predispute arbitration agreement is not valid or 

5 enforceable if the agreement requires arbitration of 

6 a dispute arising under this section. 

7 (5) RESTRICTIVE COVENANT AGREEMENTS.— 

8 An agreement in which a whistleblower is restrained 

9 by the covered entity that was the subject of a cov10 ered disclosure from exercising a lawful profession, 

11 trade, or business of any kind is not valid and not 

12 enforceable. 

13 (c) RELIEF.—Relief for an individual prevailing in an 

14 action brought under subsection (a) includes the following: 

15 (1) Reinstatement with the same seniority sta16 tus that the individual would have had, but for the 

17 discharge or discrimination. 

18 (2) Three times the amount of back pay other19 wise owed to the individual, with interest. 

20 (3) Consequential and compensatory damages, 

21 and compensation for litigation costs, expert witness 

22 fees, and reasonable attorneys’ fees. 

23 (d) COMMUNICATIONS.— 

24 (1) PROHIBITION ON IMPEDING COVERED DIS25 CLOSURE.—A covered entity may not take any acVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Dec 09, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6093.IH H6093

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1 tion that impedes or prevents an individual from 

2 communicating directly with a qualified entity about 

3 a covered disclosure, including enforcing, or threat4 ening to enforce, a confidentiality or non-disparage5 ment agreement. 

6 (2) COMMUNICATION WITH QUALIFIED ENTI7 TIES.—A covered entity may not require the consent 

8 of the counsel of the covered entity for a qualified 

9 entity to communicate directly with an individual or 

10 the attorney of an individual (if the individual is rep11 resented by an attorney) regarding a possible cov12 ered disclosure. 

13 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—A violation of paragraph 

14 (1) or (2) shall be treated as a violation of a rule 

15 defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice pre16 scribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal 

17 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

18 The Commission shall enforce this subsection in the 

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

20 same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all 

21 applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 

22 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incor23 porated into and made a part of this subsection. Any 

24 person who violates paragraph (1) or (2) shall be 

25 subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges 


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1 and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Com2 mission Act. 

3 (e) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Information that could rea4 sonably be expected to reveal the identity of a whistle5 blower, except as provided in section 21(d) of the Federal 

6 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57b–2(d))— 

7 (1) shall be considered confidential; 

8 (2) may not be disclosed; and 

9 (3) is exempt from disclosure under section 

10 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code. 

11 (f) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

12 (1) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—Nothing in this 

13 section may be construed to diminish the rights, 

14 privileges, or remedies of any whistleblower under 

15 any Federal or State law, or under any collective 

16 bargaining agreement. 

17 (2) OTHER WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS.— 

18 Nothing in this section may be construed to preempt 

19 or supersede any other Federal or State law relating 

20 to whistleblower protections. 

21 SEC. 3. INCENTIVES FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS. 

22 (a) AWARDS.—If a whistleblower voluntarily provides 

23 to the Commission original information that the whistle24 blower reasonably believes relates to a potential or sus25 pected violation of any law, rule, or regulation enforced 


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1 by the Commission and the original information that the 

2 whistleblower provided to the Commission leads to the suc3 cessful resolution of a covered action, the Commission, 

4 subject to subsection (b), may pay an award to a whistle5 blower in an aggregate amount of— 

6 (1) not less than 10 percent, in total, of col7 lected monetary sanctions; and 

8 (2) not more than 30 percent, in total, of col9 lected monetary sanctions. 

10 (b) DETERMINATION OF AWARDS; DENIAL OF

11 AWARDS.— 

12 (1) DETERMINATION OF AWARDS.— 

13 (A) DISCRETION.—The determination of 

14 whether, to whom, or in what amount to make 

15 an award shall be in the discretion of the Com16 mission subject to the provisions in subsection 

17 (a). 

18 (B) CRITERIA.—In determining an award 

19 made under subsection (a), the Commission 

20 shall take into consideration— 

21 (i) the significance of the original in22 formation provided by the whistleblower to 

23 the successful resolution of the covered ac24 tion; 


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1 (ii) the degree of assistance provided 

2 by the whistleblower and any legal rep3 resentative of the whistleblower in the cov4 ered action; and 

5 (iii) such additional factors as the 

6 Commission considers relevant. 

7 (2) DENIAL OF AWARDS.—The Commission 

8 may deny an award under subsection (a)— 

9 (A) to any whistleblower who is convicted 

10 of a criminal violation related to the covered ac11 tion for which the whistleblower otherwise could 

12 receive an award under this section; 

13 (B) to any whistleblower who, acting with14 out direction from a covered entity, or agent 

15 thereof, deliberately causes or substantially con16 tributes to the alleged violation in the covered 

17 action; or 

18 (C) to any whistleblower who fails to pro19 vide the original information to the Commission 

20 in such form as the Commission may require by 

21 regulation. 

22 (c) REPRESENTATION.—A whistleblower may be rep23 resented by counsel. 


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

2 Commission is not necessary for a whistleblower to receive 

3 an award under subsection (a). 

4 (e) PROVISION OF FALSE INFORMATION.—A whistle5 blower who knowingly and intentionally makes any false, 

6 fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or 

7 who makes or uses any false writing or document knowing 

8 the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent 

9 statement or entry, shall not be entitled to an award under 

10 this section. 

11 (f) APPEALS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any determination made 

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

14 what amount to make an award, shall be in the dis15 cretion of the Commission. 

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

17 Commission under this section may be appealed by 

18 a whistleblower to the appropriate court of appeals 

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

20 date on which a determination is issued by the Com21 mission. 

22 (3) REVIEW.—The court shall review the deter23 mination made by the Commission in accordance 

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

25 (g) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 


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1 (1) ORIGINAL INFORMATION.—Original infor2 mation submitted to the Commission by a whistle3 blower in accordance with the requirements of this 

4 section shall not lose the status as original informa5 tion solely because the whistleblower submitted the 

6 information before the effective date of any regula7 tion issued under this Act if the information was 

8 submitted after the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act. 

10 (2) AWARDS.—A whistleblower may receive an 

11 award under this section regardless of whether the 

12 violation in the covered action occurred before the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, and may receive 

14 an award before the Commission promulgates any 

15 regulation under this Act. 

16 SEC. 4. RULEMAKING. 

17 The Commission may issue such rules and regula18 tions, including regulations under section 553 of title 5, 

19 United States Code, as may be necessary or appropriate 

20 to implement the provisions of this Act. 

21 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

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

24 means the Federal Trade Commission. 


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1 (2) COVERED ACTION.—The term ‘‘covered ac2 tion’’ means any administrative or judicial action, 

3 including any related administrative or judicial ac4 tion, brought by the Commission or the Attorney 

5 General under section 3 that in the aggregate re6 sults in monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000. 

7 (3) COVERED DISCLOSURE.—The term ‘‘cov8 ered disclosure’’ means a formal or informal commu9 nication or transmission that an individual reason10 ably believes relates to a potential or suspected viola11 tion of any law, rule, or regulation enforced by the 

12 Commission. 

13 (4) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en14 tity’’ means an entity or individual subject to the ju15 risdiction of the Commission. 

16 (5) MONETARY SANCTIONS.—The term ‘‘mone17 tary sanctions’’— 

18 (A) means monies, including penalties, 

19 disgorgement, or interest, ordered or agreed to 

20 be paid; and 

21 (B) does not include any relief necessary to 

22 redress injury to consumers, as determined by 

23 the Commission. 

24 (6) ORIGINAL INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘origi25 nal information’’ means information that— 


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1 (A) is derived from the independent knowl2 edge or analysis of an individual; 

3 (B) is not known to the Commission from 

4 any other source, unless the individual is the 

5 original source of the information; and 

6 (C) is not exclusively derived from an alle7 gation made in a judicial or an administrative 

8 action, governmental report, hearing, audit, or 

9 investigation, or from the news media, unless 

10 the individual is a source of the information. 

11 (7) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 

12 entity’’ means— 

13 (A) the Commission; or 

14 (B) a Federal entity, including any Mem15 ber or committee of Congress. 

16 (8) SUCCESSFUL RESOLUTION.—The term 

17 ‘‘successful resolution’’, with respect to a covered ac18 tion, includes any settlement or adjudication of the 

19 covered action. 

20 (9) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘‘whistle21 blower’’ means— 

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

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

24 or temporary employee, contractor, subcon25 tractor (at any tier), grantee, subgrantee, or 


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1 agent of a covered entity or employee of a con2 tractor or subcontractor (at any tier) of that 

3 covered entity that engages in any of the con4 duct described under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) 

5 of section 2(a); or 

6 (B) any person that assists or is perceived 

7 as assisting any such individual (or group of in8 dividuals). 

Æ 


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