On May 15, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the bipartisan AI Whistleblower Protection Act, which provides anti-retaliation protections to AI insiders reporting safety concerns to regulators or supervisors. In a new article for Tech Policy Press, Sophie Luskin, Senior Tech Policy Analyst at the whistleblower firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, details what the bill means for tech workers.
“Under the bill, these whistleblowers can be current or former employees and independent contractors, and like other measures protecting against whistleblower retaliation, it does not require that they prove laws have been broken to be covered, only that they act in good faith in flagging a possible violation.”
Luskin provides a succinct overview of the bill’s scope and protections:
“The scope of who a disclosure can be made to under the anti-retaliation protections is very broad — it permits reporting to most federal law enforcement or regulatory agencies, the attorney general, or Congress, and covers individuals who make disclosures internally via existing company compliance programs or to their supervisors. It provides protections for individuals’ testimony in administrative and judicial proceedings, and covers aiding in government investigations. It contains anti-retaliation protections that prohibit employers from discharging, demoting, suspending, threatening, blacklisting, or harassing any covered individuals related to their protected activity.
AI whistleblowers who experience retribution would gain the ability to submit grievances to the Labor Department and pursue remedies through federal courts, including job restoration, twice the amount of back wages owed, and compensation for damages. The legislation also explicitly states that these protections for AI whistleblowers cannot be surrendered through employment contracts or forced arbitration clauses.”
Over the past two years, advocates have been calling for the passage of a bill providing whistleblower protections for AI insiders, describing it as “an urgent need.”
National Whistleblower Center has set up an Action Alert allowing supporters to write to Congress demanding the passage of the AI Whistleblower Protection Act.
Join NWC in Taking Action:
Call For the Passage of the AI Whistleblower Protection Act
Further Reading:
What the AI Whistleblower Protection Act Would Mean for Tech Workers
