149 
of up to 90 days. Such order may be issued on a showing 
that the records or things being sought may be relevant 
to the hearing, investigation, proceeding, or other matter 
and that there is reason to believe that such disclosure 
may result in— 
‘‘(1) furtherance of a potential violation under 
investigation; 
‘‘(2) endangerment to the life or physical safety 
of any person; 
‘‘(3) flight or other action to avoid prosecution 
or other enforcement remedies; 
‘‘(4) destruction of or tampering with evidence; 
or 
‘‘(5) intimidation of potential witnesses. 
An order under this subsection may be renewed for addi-
tional periods of up to 90 days upon a showing that any 
of the circumstances described in paragraphs (1) through 
(5) continue to exist. 
‘‘(g) RELATION TO OTHER PROVISIONS.—The sub-
poena authority vested in the Commissioner and the dis-
trict courts of the United States by this section is in addi-
tion to any such authority vested in the Commissioner or 
such courts by other provisions of
law, or as is otherwise 
authorized by law.
150 
‘‘(h) NONDELEGATION.—The authority to issue a 
subpoena under this section is limited to the Secretary or 
an official designated by the Secretary. An official may 
not be so designated unless the official is the director of 
the district under this Act in which the article involved 
is located, or is an official senior to such director.’’. 
SEC. 212. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 
Chapter X (21 U.S.C. 391 et seq.), as amended by 
section 206, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 1012 PROTECTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES WHO REFUSE 
TO VIOLATE, OR WHO DISCLOSE VIOLATIONS 
OF, THIS ACT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No person who submits or is re-
quired under this Act or the Public Health Service Act 
to submit any information related to a food, or any officer, 
employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent of such per-
son may discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or 
in any other manner discriminate against an employee in 
the terms and conditions of employment because of any 
lawful act done by the employee, including within the ordi-
nary course of the job duties of such employee— 
‘‘(1) to provide information, cause information 
to be provided, or otherwise assist in any investiga-
tion regarding any conduct which the employee rea-
151 
sonably believes constitutes a violation of this Act, or 
any other provision of Federal law relating to the 
safety of a food, if the information or assistance is 
provided to, or an investigation stemming from the 
provided information is conducted by— 
‘‘(A) a Federal regulatory or law enforce-
ment agency; 
‘‘(B) any Member of Congress or any com-
mittee of Congress; or 
‘‘(C) a person with supervisory authority 
over the employee (or such other person work-
ing for the employer who has the authority to 
investigate, discover, or terminate the mis-
conduct); 
‘‘(2) to file, cause to be filed, testify, participate 
in, or otherwise assist in a proceeding filed, or about 
to be filed (with any knowledge of the employer), in 
any court or administrative forum relating to any 
such alleged violation; or 
‘‘(3) to refuse to commit or assist in any such 
violation. 
‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An employee who alleges 
discharge or other discrimination in violation of sub-
152 
section (a) may seek relief in accordance with the 
provisions of 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 210 days of the 
filing of the complaint and there is no showing 
that such delay is due to the bad faith of the 
claimant, or within 90 days after receiving a 
final decision or order from the Secretary, 
bringing an action at law or equity for de novo 
review in the appropriate district court of the 
United States, which court shall have jurisdic-
tion over such action without regard to the 
amount in controversy, and which action shall, 
at the request of either party to such action, be 
tried by the court with a jury. 
‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Any action under 
paragraph (1) shall be governed under the rules 
and procedures set forth in section 42121(b) of 
title 49, United States Code. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notification in an ac-
tion under paragraph (1) shall be made in ac-
cordance with section 42121(b)(1) of title 49,
153 
United States Code, except that such notifica-
tion shall be made to the person named in the 
complaint, the employer, and the Commissioner 
of Food and Drugs. 
‘‘(C) BURDENS
OF
PROOF.—An action 
brought under paragraph (1)(A) or (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.—An ac-
tion under paragraph (1)(A) shall be com-
menced not later than 180 days after the date 
on which the violation occurs. 
‘‘(c) REMEDIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An employee prevailing in 
any action under subsection (b)(1) shall be entitled 
to all relief necessary to make the employee whole. 
‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OF ORDER.—If, in response to 
a complaint filed under paragraph (b)(1), the Sec-
retary of Labor or the district court, as applicable, 
determines that a violation of subsection (a) has oc-
curred, the Secretary or the court shall order the 
person who committed such violation— 
‘‘(A) to take affirmative action to abate 
the violation;
154 
‘‘(B) to— 
‘‘(i) reinstate the complainant to his 
or her former position together with com-
pensation (including back pay); and 
‘‘(ii) restore the terms, conditions, 
and privileges associated with his or her 
employment; and 
‘‘(C) to provide compensatory damages to 
the complainant. 
If such an order is issued under this paragraph, the 
Secretary or the court, at the request of the com-
plainant, shall assess against the person against 
whom the order is issued a sum equal to the aggre-
gate amount of all costs and expenses (including at-
torney and expert witness fees) reasonably incurred, 
as determined by the Secretary, by the complainant 
for, or in connection with, the bringing of the com-
plaint upon which the order was issued. 
‘‘(d) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Nothing in 
this section shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privi-
leges, or remedies of any employee under any Federal or 
State law or under any collective bargaining agreement. 
The rights and remedies in this section may not be waived 
by any agreement, policy, form, or condition of employ-
ment.’’.