counted toward the highest salary level for purposes 
of calculating pension benefits; 
(3) the Authority may, with respect to those 
employees who were hired before the date of enact-
ment of this Act but who had yet to accumulate a 
total of 5 years of employment with the Authority, 
determine a benefits plan which may include a com-
bination of a defined benefit and a defined contribu-
tion; and 
(4) the Authority shall, for all employees not 
enrolled in the Authority’s pension system on the 
date of enactment of this Act, provide defined con-
tribution retirement plans. 
(h) GENERAL EFFICIENCY AND FINANCIAL TRANS-
PARENCY.—The Authority shall procure and utilize a com-
mercially available product with which the Treasurer and 
other appropriate officers and staff shall manage the 
budget, finances, and other aspects of the Authority. The 
product chosen shall enable the Authority to provide open 
data, analytics, financial transparency, and reporting 
tools, among other things, and shall enable the public to 
review the finances of the Authority in real-time. 
(i) 
TRANSPARENT
CONTRACT
APPROVAL.—The 
Board shall provide for online publication of notice of pro-
curements and other actions designed to secure competi-
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tion where competitive procedures are used, and shall em-
ploy innovative contracting practices when warranted or 
justified. The Board shall adopt policies and procedures 
to comply with this subsection. 
(j) CLARIFICATION.—The provisions in this section 
are prescribed as minimum criteria which must be in-
cluded in any amendment to the Compact. Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to limit— 
(1) the Secretary from further prescribing 
rules, regulations, guidelines, or legislative text 
which shall be included in any amendment to the 
Compact; or 
(2) the Signatories from including other provi-
sions to amend the Compact; if such provisions are 
consistent with this Act; and the Secretary approves 
of any such provisions prior to enactment. 
TITLE III—EMPLOYEE 
PROTECTIONS 
SEC. 301. WMATA EMPLOYEE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC-
TION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority, a contractor or a 
subcontractor of the Authority, or an officer or employee 
of the Authority, shall not discharge, demote, suspend, 
reprimand, or in any other way discriminate against an 
employee with respect to the terms and conditions of em-
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ployment if such discrimination is due, in whole or in part, 
to the employee’s lawful, good faith act done, or perceived 
by the employer to have been done or about to be done— 
(1) to provide information, directly cause infor-
mation to be provided, or otherwise directly assist in 
any investigation regarding any conduct which the 
employee reasonably believes constitutes a violation 
of any Federal law or regulation or provision adopt-
ed by an authority created by an interstate Compact 
relating to public transportation safety or security, 
or fraud, waste, or abuse of Federal grants or other 
public funds intended to be used for public transpor-
tation safety or security, if the information or assist-
ance is provided to or an investigation stemming 
from the provided information is conducted by— 
(A) a Federal, State, or local regulatory or 
law enforcement agency, or a regulatory or law 
enforcement agency created by an interstate 
Compact (including an office of the Inspector 
General under the Inspector General Act of 
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.; Public Law 95–452)); 
(B) any Member of Congress, any com-
mittee of Congress, or the Government Ac-
countability Office; or 
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(C) a person with supervisory authority 
over the employee or such other person who has 
the authority to investigate, discover, or termi-
nate the misconduct; 
(2) to refuse to violate or assist in the violation 
of any Federal law, rule, or regulation relating to 
public transportation safety or security; 
(3) to file a complaint or directly cause to be 
brought a proceeding related to the enforcement of 
this section or to testify in that proceeding; 
(4) to notify, or attempt to notify, the Author-
ity, the inspector general, or the Secretary of Trans-
portation of a work-related personal injury or work- 
related illness of an employee; 
(5) to accurately report hours on duty pursuant 
to chapter 211 of title 49, United States Code; 
(6) to cooperate with a safety or security inves-
tigation by the Secretary of Transportation, the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security, or the National Trans-
portation Safety Board; or 
(7) to furnish information to the Secretary of 
Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
the National Transportation Safety Board, or any 
Federal, State, or local regulatory or law enforce-
ment agency, or a regulatory or law enforcement 
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agency created by an interstate Compact, as to the 
facts relating to any accident or incident resulting in 
injury or death to an individual or damage to prop-
erty occurring in connection with public transpor-
tation. 
(b) PROMPT MEDICAL ATTENTION.— 
(1) PROHIBITION.—The Authority or person 
covered under this section may not deny, delay, or 
interfere with the medical or first aid treatment of 
an employee who is injured during the course of em-
ployment. If transportation to a hospital is requested 
by an employee who is injured during the course of 
employment, the Authority shall promptly arrange to 
have the injured employee transported to the nearest 
hospital where the employee can receive safe and ap-
propriate medical care. 
(2) DISCIPLINE.—The Authority or person cov-
ered under this section may not discipline, or threat-
en discipline to, an employee for requesting medical 
or first aid treatment, or for following orders or a 
treatment plan of a treating physician, except that 
the Authority’s refusal to permit an employee to re-
turn to work following medical treatment shall not 
be considered a violation of this section if the refusal 
is pursuant to Federal Railroad Administration med-
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