I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5792 
To provide whistleblower protections to certain workers in the offshore oil 
and gas industry. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 
Mr. DESAULNIER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide whistleblower protections to certain workers in 
the offshore oil and gas industry. 
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 ‘‘Offshore Oil and Gas 
Worker Whistleblower Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS; EMPLOYEE PRO-
TECTION FROM OTHER RETALIATION. 
(a) PROHIBITION AGAINST RETALIATION.—No em-
ployer may discharge or otherwise discriminate against a 
covered employee because the covered employee, whether 
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at the covered employee’s initiative or in the ordinary 
course of the covered employee’s duties— 
(1) provided, caused to be provided, or is about 
to provide or cause to be provided to the employer 
or to a Federal or State Government official, infor-
mation relating to any violation of, or any act or 
omission the covered employee reasonably believes to 
be a violation of, any provision of the Outer Conti-
nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.), or 
any order, rule, regulation, standard, or prohibition 
under that Act, or exercised any rights provided to 
employees under that Act; 
(2) testified or is about to testify in a pro-
ceeding concerning such violation; 
(3) assisted or participated or is about to assist 
or participate in such a proceeding; 
(4) testified or is about to testify before Con-
gress on any matter covered by such Act; 
(5) objected to, or refused to participate in any 
activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that the 
covered employee reasonably believed to be in viola-
tion of any provision of such Act, or any order, rule, 
regulation, standard, or ban under such Act; 
(6) reported to the employer or a State or Fed-
eral Government official an illness, injury, unsafe 
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condition, or information regarding the adequacy of 
any oil spill response plan required by law related to 
the employer’s activities described in section 3(1); or 
(7) refused to perform the covered employee’s 
duties, or exercised stop work authority, related to 
the employer’s activities described in section 3(1) if 
the covered employee had a reasonable belief that 
performing such duties could result in injury to or 
impairment of the health of the covered employee or 
other employees, or cause an oil spill to the environ-
ment. 
(b) PROCESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered employee who be-
lieves that he or she has been discharged or other-
wise discriminated against (hereafter referred to as 
the ‘‘complainant’’) by any employer in violation of 
subsection (a)(1) may, not later than 180 days after 
the date on which such alleged violation occurs or 
the date on which the covered employee knows or 
should reasonably have known that such alleged vio-
lation occurred, file (or have any person file on his 
or her behalf) a complaint with the Secretary of 
Labor (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) alleging such discharge or discrimination 
and identifying employer or employers responsible 
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and evidence provided by employer or employers 
to the Secretary, and to review any response or 
rebuttal by such the complaint, as part of such 
investigation. 
(B) REASONABLE CAUSE FOUND; PRELIMI-
NARY ORDER.—If the Secretary concludes that 
there is reasonable cause to believe that a viola-
tion of subsection (a)(1) has occurred, the Sec-
retary shall accompany the Secretary’s findings 
with a preliminary order providing the relief 
prescribed by paragraph (3)(B). 
(C) RIGHT OF PARTIES TO APPEAL.—Not 
later than 30 days after the date of notification 
of findings under this paragraph, the employer 
or employers alleged to have committed the vio-
lation or the complainant may file objections to 
the findings or preliminary order, or both, in-
cluding the dismissal of the complaint, in whole 
or in part, and request a hearing on the record 
before an administrative law judge of the De-
partment of Labor. Any such hearing shall be 
conducted expeditiously. If a hearing is not re-
quested in such 30-day period, the preliminary 
order shall be deemed a final order that is not 
subject to judicial review. The filing of such ob-
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jections shall not operate to stay any reinstate-
ment remedy contained in the preliminary order 
issued under subparagraph (B). The Secretary 
of Labor is authorized to enforce preliminary 
reinstatement orders in the United States dis-
trict court for the district in which the violation 
was found to occur, or in the United States dis-
trict court for the District of Columbia. 
(D) DISMISSAL OF COMPLAINT.— 
(i) STANDARD FOR COMPLAINANT.— 
The Secretary shall dismiss a complaint 
filed under this subsection and shall not 
conduct an investigation otherwise required 
under subparagraph (A) unless the com-
plainant makes a prima facie showing that 
any behavior described in subparagraphs 
(A) through (G) of subsection (a)(1) was a 
contributing factor in the adverse action 
alleged in the complaint. 
(ii) STANDARD FOR EMPLOYER.—Not-
withstanding a finding by the Secretary 
that the complainant has made the show-
ing required under clause (i), no investiga-
tion otherwise required under subpara-
graph (A) shall be conducted if the em-
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ployer demonstrates, by clear and con-
vincing evidence, that the employer would 
have taken the same adverse action in the 
absence of that behavior. 
(iii) 
VIOLATION
STANDARD.—The 
Secretary may determine that a violation 
of subsection (a)(1) has occurred only if 
the complainant demonstrates that any be-
havior described in subparagraphs (A) 
through (G) of such subsection was a con-
tributing factor in the adverse action al-
leged in the complaint. 
(iv) RELIEF STANDARD.—Relief may 
not be ordered under subparagraph (A) if 
the employer demonstrates by clear and 
convincing evidence that the employer 
would have taken the same adverse action 
in the absence of that behavior. 
(3) ORDERS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 
after the receipt of a request for a hearing 
under subsection (b)(2)(B), the administrative 
law judge shall issue findings of fact and order 
the relief provided under this paragraph or 
deny the complaint. At any time before issuance 
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of an order, a proceeding under this subsection 
may be terminated on the basis of a settlement 
agreement entered into by the Secretary, the 
complainant, and the person alleged to have 
committed the violation. Such a settlement may 
not be agreed by such parties if it contains con-
ditions which conflict with rights protected 
under this Act, are contrary to public policy, or 
include a restriction on a complainant’s right to 
future employment with employers other than 
the specific employers named in the complaint. 
(B) CONTENT OF ORDER.—If, in response 
to a complaint filed under paragraph (1), the 
administrative law judge determines that a vio-
lation of subsection (a)(1) has occurred, the ad-
ministrative law judge shall order the employer 
or employers who committed such violation to— 
(i) take affirmative action to abate the 
violation; 
(ii) reinstate the complainant to his or 
her former position together with com-
pensation (including double back pay and 
prejudgment interest) and restore the 
terms, conditions, and privileges associated 
with his or her employment; 
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(iii) expunge of all warnings, rep-
rimands, or derogatory references that 
have been placed in paper or electronic 
records or databases of any type relating 
to the actions by the complainant that 
gave rise to the unfavorable personnel ac-
tion, and, at the complainant’s direction, 
transmit a copy of the decision on the com-
plaint to any person whom the complainant 
reasonably believes may have received such 
unfavorable information; and 
(iv) provide compensatory and con-
sequential damages, and, as appropriate, 
exemplary damages to the complainant. 
(C) ATTORNEY FEES.—If such an order is 
issued under this paragraph, the Secretary, at 
the request of the complainant, shall assess 
against the employer or employers a sum equal 
to the aggregate amount of all costs and ex-
penses (including attorneys’ and expert witness 
fees) reasonably incurred by the complainant 
for, or in connection with, the bringing of the 
complaint upon which the order was issued at 
the conclusion of any stage of the proceeding. 
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