I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 846 
To protect certain whistleblowers seeking to ensure accountability and over-
sight of the Nation’s COVID–19 pandemic response, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 4, 2021 
Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. CARSON, Mr. COHEN, Mr. DANNY 
K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. GRIJALVA, 
Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. 
JONES, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of 
New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PHILLIPS, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. 
TLAIB, Mrs. BEATTY, and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Labor 
A BILL 
To protect certain whistleblowers seeking to ensure account-
ability and oversight of the Nation’s COVID–19 pan-
demic response, 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 ‘‘COVID–19 Whistle-
blower Protection Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘abuse of authority’’ means an ar-
bitrary and capricious exercise of authority by a con-
tracting officer or employee that adversely affects 
the rights of any individual, or that results in per-
sonal gain or advantage to the officer or employee 
or to preferred other individuals; 
(2) the term ‘‘CARES Act’’ means the CARES 
Act (Public Law 116–136); 
(3) the term ‘‘Coronavirus pandemic-related 
program, project, or activity’’— 
(A) means a program, project, or activity 
of the executive branch of the Federal Govern-
ment authorized under or carried out using 
amounts made available under an Act to re-
spond to or to provide aid or assistance to ad-
dress, relief from, or funding to address the 
outbreak of COVID–19 that is enacted before, 
on, or after the date of enactment of this Act; 
and 
(B) includes any program, project, or ac-
tivity of the executive branch of the Federal 
Government authorized under or carried out 
using amounts made available under— 
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(i) the Paycheck Protection Program 
and Health Care Enhancement Act (Public 
Law 116–139), or an amendment made by 
that Act; 
(ii) the CARES Act, or an amend-
ment made by that Act; 
(iii) the Families First Coronavirus 
Response Act (Public Law 116–127), or an 
amendment made by that Act; 
(iv) the Coronavirus Preparedness and 
Response 
Supplemental 
Appropriations 
Act, 2020 (Public Law 116–123), or an 
amendment made by that Act; or 
(v) division M or N of the Consoli-
dated Appropriations Act, 2021(Public 
Law 116–260), or an amendment made by 
that division; 
(4) the term ‘‘covered funds’’ means any con-
tract, subcontract, grant, subgrant, loan, loan guar-
antee, or other payment for which— 
(A) the Federal Government provides any 
portion of the funds or property that is pro-
vided, requested, or demanded; and 
(B) any portion of the funds are appro-
priated or otherwise made available under or to 
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carry out a Coronavirus pandemic-related pro-
gram, project, or activity; 
(5) the term ‘‘employee’’— 
(A) except as provided under subparagraph 
(B), means an individual performing services on 
behalf of an employer, including any individual 
working for an employer under a contract with 
such employer (including a contractor, subcon-
tractor, or agent of an employer); and 
(B) does not include any Federal employee 
or member of the uniformed services (as that 
term is defined in section 101(a)(5) of title 10, 
United States Code); 
(6) the term ‘‘non-Federal employer’’— 
(A) means any employer— 
(i) with respect to covered funds— 
(I) the contractor, subcontractor, 
grantee, subgrantee, or recipient, as 
the case may be, if the contractor, 
subcontractor, grantee, subgrantee, or 
recipient is an employer; and 
(II) any professional membership 
organization, certification or other 
professional body, any agent or li-
censee of the Federal Government, or 
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any person acting directly or indi-
rectly in the interest of an employer 
receiving covered funds; or 
(ii) with respect to covered funds re-
ceived by a State or local government, the 
State or local government receiving the 
funds and any contractor or subcontractor 
of the State or local government; and 
(B) does not mean any department, agen-
cy, or other entity of the Federal Government; 
(7) the term ‘‘protected individual’’ means— 
(A) an employee of, former employee of, or 
individual seeking employment with, any non- 
Federal employer receiving covered funds; or 
(B) a Federal personal services contractor 
receiving covered funds, former such Federal 
personal services contractor, or applicant for a 
Federal personal services contract involving 
such funds; 
(8) the term ‘‘reprisal’’ means an action (or, as 
applicable, inaction) that is discharging, demoting, 
blacklisting, or acting or failing to take an action in 
a manner prejudicial against, or otherwise discrimi-
nating against in any way (including in the hiring 
process and including by the threat of any such ac-
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tion or inaction) a protected individual as described 
in section 3(a)(1) for a reason described in subpara-
graph (A) or (B) of such section; and 
(9) the term ‘‘State or local government’’ 
means— 
(A) the government of each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, 
the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, or any other terri-
tory or possession of the United States; or 
(B) the government of any political sub-
division of a government listed in subparagraph 
(A). 
SEC. 3. PROTECTING WHISTLEBLOWERS. 
(a) PROHIBITION OF REPRISALS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A protected individual may 
not be discharged, demoted, blacklisted, prejudiced 
by any action or lack of action, or otherwise dis-
criminated against in any way (including in the hir-
ing process and including by the threat of any such 
action or inaction) for— 
(A) disclosing, being perceived as dis-
closing, or preparing to disclose (including as-
sisting in disclosing, being perceived as assist-
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ing in disclosing, or preparing to assist in dis-
closing and including a disclosure made in the 
ordinary course of the duties of the protected 
individual) to an officer or entity described in 
paragraph (2) information that the protected 
individual reasonably believes is evidence of 
misconduct that violates, obstructs, or under-
mines any statute, rule, or regulation with re-
spect to any Coronavirus pandemic-related pro-
gram, project, or activity, including— 
(i) gross mismanagement of an agency 
contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant 
relating to covered funds; 
(ii) a gross waste of covered funds; 
(iii) a substantial and specific danger 
to public health or safety; 
(iv) an abuse of authority related to 
the distribution, implementation, or use of 
covered funds, including conflict of interest 
or partiality; and 
(v) a violation of any statute, rule, or 
regulation related to an agency contract, 
subcontract (including the competition for 
or negotiation of a contract or sub-
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contract), grant, or subgrant, awarded or 
issued relating to covered funds; or 
(B) refusing to obey an order that the pro-
tected individual reasonably believes would re-
quire that individual to violate a statute, rule, 
or regulation with respect to any Coronavirus 
pandemic-related program, project, or activity. 
(2) OFFICERS AND ENTITIES.—The officers and 
entities described in this paragraph are— 
(A) the Pandemic Response Accountability 
Committee; 
(B) an inspector general, including the 
Special Inspector General for Pandemic Relief; 
(C) the Congressional Oversight Commis-
sion; 
(D) the Comptroller General of the United 
States; 
(E) a Member of Congress; 
(F) a congressional committee; 
(G) a State or Federal regulatory or law 
enforcement agency; 
(H)(i) an individual with supervisory au-
thority over a protected individual; or 
(ii) another individual who— 
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(I) has authority to investigate, dis-
cover, or terminate misconduct; and 
(II) works for the non-Federal em-
ployer (in the case of a protected individual 
described in section 2(7)(A)), or the Fed-
eral Government (in the case of a pro-
tected individual described in section 
2(7)(B)); 
(I) a court or grand jury; 
(J) an officer or representative of a labor 
organization; or 
(K) the head of a Federal agency or a des-
ignee of such a head. 
(3) APPLICATION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—For the purposes of 
paragraph (1)— 
(i) a protected individual who initiates 
or provides evidence of misconduct by a 
contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or sub-
grantee in any judicial or administrative 
proceeding relating to waste, fraud, or 
abuse in connection with a Federal con-
tract or grant shall be deemed to have 
made a disclosure covered by such para-
graph; and 
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(ii) any discharge, demotion, discrimi-
nation, or other reprisal described in para-
graph (1) is prohibited even if it is under-
taken at the request of an executive branch 
officer or employee, unless the request 
takes the form of a non-discretionary di-
rective and is within the authority of the 
executive branch official making the re-
quest. 
(B) PROTECTION
OF
WHISTLEBLOWER 
IDENTITY.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as required 
by law, an officer or entity described in 
paragraph (2) that receives information 
under paragraph (1) and any individual or 
entity to which the officer or entity dis-
closes the information may not disclose the 
identity or identifying information of the 
protected individual providing the informa-
tion without explicit written consent of the 
protected individual. 
(ii) NOTICE.—If disclosure of the 
identity or identifying information of a 
protected individual providing information 
under paragraph (1) is required by law, 
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the recipient shall provide timely notice of 
the disclosure to the protected individual. 
(b) INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS.— 
(1) COMPLAINTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A protected individual 
who believes that the individual has been sub-
jected to a reprisal prohibited under subsection 
(a) may, within 3 years after learning of the al-
leged reprisal, submit a complaint regarding the 
reprisal to the Secretary of Labor in accordance 
with paragraph (2). 
(B) RESPONSE.—Not later than 60 days 
after the submission of a complaint under sub-
paragraph (A), the applicable non-Federal em-
ployer (or the applicable agency head in the 
case of a Federal personal services contract in-
volving covered funds) shall submit an answer 
to the complaint to the Secretary of Labor. 
(2) REMEDY
AND
ENFORCEMENT
AUTHOR-
ITY.— 
(A) RULES AND PROCEDURES.—Except to 
the extent provided otherwise in this section, 
any action alleging a reprisal prohibited under 
subsection (a) shall be governed, to the max-
imum extent practicable, by the rules and pro-
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cedures for administrative and judicial enforce-
ment, including for investigations, civil actions, 
appeals, and relief, set forth under section 
7623(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
(B) BURDEN OF PROOF.—The Secretary 
of Labor, or the officer presiding in a judicial 
or administrative proceeding, shall apply the 
legal burdens of proof specified in section 
1221(e) of title 5, United States Code, in deter-
mining whether a reprisal prohibited under sub-
section (a) has occurred in accordance with the 
rules and procedures under subparagraph (A). 
(C) ACCESS TO INVESTIGATIVE FILE OF 
THE SECRETARY OF LABOR.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—A protected indi-
vidual alleging a reprisal under this section 
shall have access to the investigation file of 
the Secretary of Labor in accordance with 
section 552a of title 5, United States Code 
(commonly referred to as the ‘‘Privacy 
Act’’). The investigation of the Secretary 
of Labor shall be deemed closed for pur-
poses of disclosure under such section 
when an individual files an appeal to an 
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agency head or a court of competent juris-
diction. 
(ii) CIVIL
ACTION.—In the event a 
protected individual alleging a reprisal 
under this section brings a civil action 
under this subsection, the protected indi-
vidual and the non-Federal employer (or 
the head of the applicable agency in the 
case of a Federal personal services con-
tract involving covered funds), if applica-
ble, shall have access to the investigative 
file of the Secretary of Labor in accord-
ance with section 552a of title 5, United 
States Code. 
(iii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary of 
Labor may exclude from disclosure— 
(I) information protected from 
disclosure by a provision of law; and 
(II) any additional information 
the Secretary of Labor determines 
disclosure of which would impede a 
continuing investigation, if such infor-
mation is disclosed once such disclo-
sure would no longer impede such in-
vestigation, unless the Secretary of 
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Labor determines that disclosure of 
law enforcement techniques, proce-
dures, or information could reasonably 
be expected to risk circumvention of 
the law or disclose the identity of a 
confidential source. 
(iv) PRIVACY OF INFORMATION.—The 
Secretary of Labor investigating an alleged 
reprisal under this section may not re-
spond to any inquiry or disclose any infor-
mation from or about any protected indi-
vidual alleging such reprisal, except in ac-
cordance with the provisions of section 
552a of title 5, United States Code, or as 
required by any other applicable Federal 
law. 
(c) GENERAL PROVISIONS.— 
(1) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Noth-
ing in this section shall diminish the rights, privi-
leges, or remedies of any protected individual under 
any Federal or State law, or under any collective 
bargaining agreement. 
(2) LIABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, a protected individual shall be im-
mune from civil and criminal liability with respect to 
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a disclosure by the individual if the individual would 
be protected from reprisal under subsection (a) for 
making the disclosure. The protected individual shall 
bear the burden of proving that the individual would 
be protected from reprisal under subsection (a) for 
making the disclosure. 
(3) NONENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI-
SIONS WAIVING RIGHTS AND REMEDIES OR REQUIR-
ING ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES.— 
(A) WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.— 
Except as provided under subparagraph (C), 
the rights and remedies provided for in this sec-
tion may not be waived by any public or private 
agreement, policy, form, or condition of employ-
ment, including by any predispute arbitration 
agreement. 
(B) PREDISPUTE
ARBITRATION
AGREE-
MENTS.—Except as provided under subpara-
graph (C), no predispute arbitration agreement 
shall be valid or enforceable if it requires arbi-
tration of a dispute arising under this section. 
(C) EXCEPTION
FOR
COLLECTIVE
BAR-
GAINING AGREEMENTS.—Notwithstanding sub-
paragraphs (A) and (B), an arbitration provi-
sion in a collective bargaining agreement shall 
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be enforceable as to disputes arising under the 
collective bargaining agreement. 
(4) REQUIREMENT TO POST NOTICE OF RIGHTS 
AND REMEDIES.—Any non-Federal employer receiv-
ing covered funds (and the head of the applicable 
agency in the case of a Federal personal services 
contract involving covered funds) shall post notice of 
the rights and remedies provided under this section. 
(d) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
(1) NO
IMPLIED
AUTHORITY
TO
RETALIATE 
FOR
NON-PROTECTED
DISCLOSURES.—Nothing in 
this section may be construed to— 
(A) authorize the discharge of, demotion 
of, or discrimination or other reprisal against a 
protected individual for a disclosure other than 
a disclosure protected by subsection (a); or 
(B) modify or derogate from a right or 
remedy otherwise available to the protected in-
dividual. 
(2) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAWS.—Nothing 
in this section may be construed to preempt, pre-
clude, or limit the protections provided for public or 
private employees under State whistleblower laws. 
(e) COMPLAINT PORTAL.—The Special Inspector 
General for Pandemic Relief, the Pandemic Relief Ac-
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