On November 15, Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Lori Trahan (D-MA) reintroduced the FTC Whistleblower Act of 2024. Rep. Schakowsky’s office confirmed with WNN plans to once again reintroduce the bill in the next session of Congress as well.
The bill aims to incentivize and protect whistleblowers who disclose violations of laws overseen by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), such as unlawful violations of consumer protection and antitrust laws and regulations. The 2024 version of the bill is a revision of a previous version of the bill introduced in 2021. The new bill implements major improvements over the 2021 version by setting a mandatory minimum for awards and establishing an FTC fund to award whistleblowers.
The Act would establish a whistleblower award program for FTC whistleblowers modeled from the highly successful SEC Whistleblower Program. The program would offer protections to whistleblowers who face retaliation and qualified whistleblowers would be eligible to receive awards of 10-30% of the funds collected by the government in connection with their disclosure.
The 2021 version of the bill was highly criticized by whistleblower advocates because it did not mandate the payment of awards to qualified whistleblowers. To their satisfaction, the new 2024 bill follows the Dodd-Frank Act, the law which established the SEC Whistleblower Program, much more closely by stating the FTC “shall” pay an award instead of “may” pay an award to a qualified whistleblower.
“Whistleblowers courageously risk their livelihoods to shine a light on corporate crimes,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. “Our bill will help safeguard whistleblowers like Frances Haugen, who bravely came before the Energy and Commerce Committee last Congress and revealed just how much social media is harming our children. Not only does this bill protect consumers from greedy, lawbreaking corporations, but it also supports the whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing.”
The new version of the bill also establishes a designated fund within the FTC to pay awards to whistleblowers. This revision would greatly increase the efficiency and speed of award payouts and improve incentives for whistleblowers to come forward and aid the FTC against crime.
“Whistleblowers take big risks to reveal illegal actions by powerful companies. They put their jobs and reputations on the line to protect consumers and make sure corporations are held accountable for breaking the law. It’s wrong to let them face retaliation when they’re acting in the public’s best interest,” said Congresswoman Lori Trahan.
Further Reading:
Schakowsky, Trahan Reintroduce Legislation to Safeguard Whistleblowers and Consumers
