Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Senate passes protections for antitrust whistleblowers, (Jul 23, 2015)
Organizations Mentioned:U.S. Department of Labor
By Jeffrey May, J.D.
The bi-partisan “Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2015” passed the Senate yesterday. The measure would protect employees who report suspected criminal antitrust activity to their employer or the federal government from workplace retaliation for their revelations.
The bill (S. 1599) will now move to the House. Its fate is questionable there, since a similar version of the proposed legislation that passed the Senate in the last Congress failed to be taken up by the lower house at that time.
The legislation is intended to provide antitrust whistleblower protections for employees. An employee who alleges discharge or other discrimination can seek relief from the U.S. Department of Labor. Relief could include reinstatement, back pay, and compensation for litigation costs and attorney fees. The protections are modeled on whistleblower protections contained in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Certain individuals would be excluded from the protections. For instance, individuals who planned and initiated a violation or attempted violation or obstructed or attempted to obstruct a Department of Justice antitrust investigation would not be covered under the bill.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced the bill on June 17. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the measure, with slight modifications to the original version, which was identical to the bill in the last Congress. Senator Grassley explained that a “few concerns that were raised this Congress” had been “ironed out” and were reflected in a Managers’ Amendment.
News: Antitrust