FAS

Survey of Federal Whistleblower Laws, and More from CRS

04.23.13 | 2 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

Dozens of federal laws protect employees who report waste, fraud or abuse by their employers. Some of those laws, particularly those that apply to private-sector workers, have been strengthened in recent years, according to a new survey from the Congressional Research Service.

“Eleven of the forty laws reviewed in this report were enacted after 1999. Among these laws are the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,” the CRS report said.

The report “focuses on key aspects of the federal whistleblower and anti-retaliation laws. For each law, the report summarizes the activities that are protected, how the law’s protections are enforced, whether the law provides a private right of action, the remedies prescribed by the law, and the year the law’s whistleblower or anti-retaliation provisions were adopted and amended.”

The report does not address national security whistleblowers, or those who disclose classified information with or without authorization. See Survey of Federal Whistleblower and Anti-Retaliation Laws, April 22, 2013.

Other new or newly updated CRS reports that Congress has not made publicly available include the following.

State Taxation of Internet Transactions, April 19, 2013

Drought in the United States: Causes and Issues for Congress, April 22, 2013

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: A Summary of Congressional Action for FY2013, April 22, 2013

The FY2014 State and Foreign Operations Budget Request, April 18, 2013

U.S.-EU Cooperation Against Terrorism, April 22, 2013

Expediting the Return to Work: Approaches in the Unemployment Compensation Program, April 18, 2013

Economic Recovery: Sustaining U.S. Economic Growth in a Post-Crisis Economy, April 18, 2013

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2013, April 19, 2013

The U.S. Export Control System and the President’s Reform Initiative, April 19, 2013

Mexico’s Drug Trafficking Organizations: Source and Scope of the Violence, April 15, 2013

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