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 consider-
ation 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FTC Whistleblower 
Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS. 
(a) PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION.—A covered 
entity may not, directly or indirectly, discharge, demote, 
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suspend, threaten, harass, blacklist, or in any other man-
ner discriminate or take an adverse personnel action 
against an individual, or any person perceived as assisting 
the individual, who does any of the following: 
(1) Makes (or the covered entity suspects the 
individual has made or will make) a covered disclo-
sure to— 
(A) a qualified entity; 
(B) a person with supervisory authority 
over the individual; or 
(C) another individual who the individual 
reasonably believes has the authority to inves-
tigate, discover, or terminate the violation in 
the covered disclosure or to take any other ac-
tion to address the violation in the covered dis-
closure. 
(2) Initiates, testifies, assists, or participates 
(or the covered entity expects will initiate, testify, 
assist, or participate) in an investigation or judicial 
or administrative proceeding by a qualified entity. 
(3) Objects to, or refuses to participate in, any 
activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that the 
individual (or other such person) reasonably believes 
is a potential or suspected violation of any law, rule, 
or regulation enforced by the Commission. 
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(b) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) CAUSE OF ACTION.—An individual who al-
leges a violation of subsection (a) may bring an ac-
tion under this subsection in the appropriate district 
court of the United States for the relief provided in 
subsection (c). 
(2) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An action under this 
subsection may not be brought— 
(i) more than 6 years after the date 
on which the violation of subsection (a) oc-
curred; or 
(ii) more than 3 years after the date 
on which facts material to the right of ac-
tion are known or reasonably should have 
been known by the whistleblower alleging a 
violation of subsection (a). 
(B) 
REQUIRED
ACTION
WITHIN
YEARS.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), an 
action under this subsection may not in any cir-
cumstance be brought more than 10 years after 
the date on which the violation occurs. 
(3) WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—The 
rights and remedies provided for in this section may 
not be waived by any policy form or condition of em-
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ployment, including by a predispute arbitration 
agreement. 
(4) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS.— 
A predispute arbitration agreement is not valid or 
enforceable if the agreement requires arbitration of 
a dispute arising under this section. 
(5) RESTRICTIVE
COVENANT
AGREEMENTS.— 
An agreement in which a whistleblower is restrained 
by the covered entity that was the subject of a cov-
ered disclosure from exercising a lawful profession, 
trade, or business of any kind is not valid and not 
enforceable. 
(c) RELIEF.—Relief for an individual prevailing in an 
action brought under subsection (a) includes the following: 
(1) Reinstatement with the same seniority sta-
tus that the individual would have had, but for the 
discharge or discrimination. 
(2) Three times the amount of back pay other-
wise owed to the individual, with interest. 
(3) Consequential and compensatory damages, 
and compensation for litigation costs, expert witness 
fees, and reasonable attorneys’ fees. 
(d) COMMUNICATIONS.— 
(1) PROHIBITION ON IMPEDING COVERED DIS-
CLOSURE.—A covered entity may not take any ac-
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tion that impedes or prevents an individual from 
communicating directly with a qualified entity about 
a covered disclosure, including enforcing, or threat-
ening to enforce, a confidentiality or non-disparage-
ment agreement. 
(2) COMMUNICATION
WITH
QUALIFIED
ENTI-
TIES.—A covered entity may not require the consent 
of the counsel of the covered entity for a qualified 
entity to communicate directly with an individual or 
the attorney of an individual (if the individual is rep-
resented by an attorney) regarding a possible cov-
ered disclosure. 
(3) ENFORCEMENT.—A violation of paragraph 
(1) or (2) shall be treated as a violation of a rule 
defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice pre-
scribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 
The Commission shall enforce this subsection in the 
same manner, by the same means, and with the 
same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all 
applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incor-
porated into and made a part of this subsection. Any 
person who violates paragraph (1) or (2) shall be 
subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges 
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and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Com-
mission Act. 
(e) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Information that could rea-
sonably be expected to reveal the identity of a whistle-
blower, except as provided in section 21(d) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57b–2(d))— 
(1) shall be considered confidential; 
(2) may not be disclosed; and 
(3) is exempt from disclosure under section 
552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code. 
(f) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
(1) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—Nothing in this 
section may be construed to diminish the rights, 
privileges, or remedies of any whistleblower under 
any Federal or State law, or under any collective 
bargaining agreement. 
(2) OTHER WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS.— 
Nothing in this section may be construed to preempt 
or supersede any other Federal or State law relating 
to whistleblower protections. 
SEC. 3. INCENTIVES FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS. 
(a) AWARDS.—If a whistleblower voluntarily provides 
to the Commission original information that the whistle-
blower reasonably believes relates to a potential or sus-
pected violation of any law, rule, or regulation enforced 
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by the Commission and the original information that the 
whistleblower provided to the Commission leads to the suc-
cessful resolution of a covered action, the Commission, 
subject to subsection (b), may pay an award to a whistle-
blower in an aggregate amount of— 
(1) not less than 10 percent, in total, of col-
lected monetary sanctions; and 
(2) not more than 30 percent, in total, of col-
lected monetary sanctions. 
(b) DETERMINATION
OF
AWARDS; DENIAL
OF 
AWARDS.— 
(1) DETERMINATION OF AWARDS.— 
(A) DISCRETION.—The determination of 
whether, to whom, or in what amount to make 
an award shall be in the discretion of the Com-
mission subject to the provisions in subsection 
(a). 
(B) CRITERIA.—In determining an award 
made under subsection (a), the Commission 
shall take into consideration— 
(i) the significance of the original in-
formation provided by the whistleblower to 
the successful resolution of the covered ac-
tion; 
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(ii) the degree of assistance provided 
by the whistleblower and any legal rep-
resentative of the whistleblower in the cov-
ered action; and 
(iii) such additional factors as the 
Commission considers relevant. 
(2) DENIAL
OF
AWARDS.—The Commission 
may deny an award under subsection (a)— 
(A) to any whistleblower who is convicted 
of a criminal violation related to the covered ac-
tion for which the whistleblower otherwise could 
receive an award under this section; 
(B) to any whistleblower who, acting with-
out direction from a covered entity, or agent 
thereof, deliberately causes or substantially con-
tributes to the alleged violation in the covered 
action; or 
(C) to any whistleblower who fails to pro-
vide the original information to the Commission 
in such form as the Commission may require by 
regulation. 
(c) REPRESENTATION.—A whistleblower may be rep-
resented by counsel. 
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(d) NO CONTRACT NECESSARY.—A contract with the 
Commission is not necessary for a whistleblower to receive 
an award under subsection (a). 
(e) PROVISION OF FALSE INFORMATION.—A whistle-
blower who knowingly and intentionally makes any false, 
fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or 
who makes or uses any false writing or document knowing 
the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent 
statement or entry, shall not be entitled to an award under 
this section. 
(f) APPEALS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Any determination made 
under this section, including whether, to whom, or in 
what amount to make an award, shall be in the dis-
cretion of the Commission. 
(2) APPEALS.—Any determination made by the 
Commission under this section may be appealed by 
a whistleblower to the appropriate court of appeals 
of the United States not later than 30 days after the 
date on which a determination is issued by the Com-
mission. 
(3) REVIEW.—The court shall review the deter-
mination made by the Commission in accordance 
with section 706 of title 5, United States Code. 
(g) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
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(1) ORIGINAL
INFORMATION.—Original infor-
mation submitted to the Commission by a whistle-
blower in accordance with the requirements of this 
section shall not lose the status as original informa-
tion solely because the whistleblower submitted the 
information before the effective date of any regula-
tion issued under this Act if the information was 
submitted after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(2) AWARDS.—A whistleblower may receive an 
award under this section regardless of whether the 
violation in the covered action occurred before the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and may receive 
an award before the Commission promulgates any 
regulation under this Act. 
SEC. 4. RULEMAKING. 
The Commission may issue such rules and regula-
tions, including regulations under section 553 of title 5, 
United States Code, as may be necessary or appropriate 
to implement the provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Trade Commission. 
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(2) COVERED ACTION.—The term ‘‘covered ac-
tion’’ means any administrative or judicial action, 
including any related administrative or judicial ac-
tion, brought by the Commission or the Attorney 
General under section 3 that in the aggregate re-
sults in monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000. 
(3) COVERED
DISCLOSURE.—The term ‘‘cov-
ered disclosure’’ means a formal or informal commu-
nication or transmission that an individual reason-
ably believes relates to a potential or suspected viola-
tion of any law, rule, or regulation enforced by the 
Commission. 
(4) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en-
tity’’ means an entity or individual subject to the ju-
risdiction of the Commission. 
(5) MONETARY SANCTIONS.—The term ‘‘mone-
tary sanctions’’— 
(A) means monies, including penalties, 
disgorgement, or interest, ordered or agreed to 
be paid; and 
(B) does not include any relief necessary to 
redress injury to consumers, as determined by 
the Commission. 
(6) ORIGINAL INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘origi-
nal information’’ means information that— 
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(A) is derived from the independent knowl-
edge or analysis of an individual; 
(B) is not known to the Commission from 
any other source, unless the individual is the 
original source of the information; and 
(C) is not exclusively derived from an alle-
gation made in a judicial or an administrative 
action, governmental report, hearing, audit, or 
investigation, or from the news media, unless 
the individual is a source of the information. 
(7) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 
entity’’ means— 
(A) the Commission; or 
(B) a Federal entity, including any Mem-
ber or committee of Congress. 
(8) 
SUCCESSFUL
RESOLUTION.—The 
term 
‘‘successful resolution’’, with respect to a covered ac-
tion, includes any settlement or adjudication of the 
covered action. 
(9) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘‘whistle-
blower’’ means— 
(A) an individual (or group of individuals) 
who is a current or former full-time, part-time, 
or temporary employee, contractor, subcon-
tractor (at any tier), grantee, subgrantee, or 
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agent of a covered entity or employee of a con-
tractor or subcontractor (at any tier) of that 
covered entity that engages in any of the con-
duct described under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) 
of section 2(a); or 
(B) any person that assists or is perceived 
as assisting any such individual (or group of in-
dividuals). 
Æ 
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