Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Conference Report

Section 748
23(A) - qui tam for whistleblowers under the Commodities Exchange Act
23 sub (H) - anti-retaliation provision, which permits whistleblowers to go to federal court if they are retaliated against for filing fraud claims under the Commodities Exchange Act

Section 922
21F(a) qui tam for securities fraud: new qui tam rewards and incentives for whistleblowers who blow the whistle on securities violations
21F sub (H)(1) anti-retaliation provision for employees who file qui tam claims under securities law
(H)(1)(A)(iii) anti-retaliation for employees who make disclosures under SOX, any violation of SEC art or who make protected disclosures under obstruction of justice act
Claims filed in federal court - employees entitled to double back pay
(B) statistical ratings organizations (Moody's & Standard & Poor's) now protected under SOX anti-retaliation provisions (C) SOX whistleblower protection act enhanced and amended to increase the statute of limitations, guarantee jury trials, and prohibit mandatory arbitration agreements

Section 923 - Conforming amendments

Section 924 - SEC regulations to establish special whistleblower office and impose regulations enforcing whistleblower rules. 

Section 929A - SOX anti-retaliation law is clarified to ensure subsidiaries of publicly traded companies are fully protected under the whistleblower protection law

Section 966 - Federal employees are losers under the Act and regulators obtain no protections except a glorified "suggestion box"

Section 1057 - New whistleblower protection for employees who make disclosures to the newly created consumer protection board

Section 1079B(c) - Amends the False Claims Act anti-retaliation law to provide for universal national 3 year statute of limitations to file wrongful discharge claims under the False Claims Act.

The Whistleblower Protection Act (S. 372) is pending in the Senate and seeks to clarify the rules and protections that cover whistleblowers.

Some, however, think it will have the opposite effect, and it's drawing fire from some whistleblower groups.

Washington, DC. January 19, 2010. In response to the front-page article appearing today in the Washington Post, the following statements were released by Stephen M. Kohn, attorney for Mr. Bassem Youssef (Chief of the FBI’s Communications Analysis Unit/Counterterrorism Division) and National Whistleblowers Center Executive Director:

“Since 2005, when he first learned of the abuses reported in today’s Washington Post, Mr. Youssef has attempted to ensure that the FBI complied with the law.  Between 2006-08 he provided extensive testimony before the DOJ Office of Inspector General.  In 2008 and 2009, his counsel provided three detailed letters to the Attorney General of the United States setting forth details on the misconduct committed within the FBI and urging that effective corrective actions be taken."

TAKE ACTION! Demand Congress protect all national security whistleblowers! 

• Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009 (HR 1507 and S 372)
• What's Wrong with the Senate Whistleblower Bill
• Legal analysis of S. 372
• Get involved

David Colapinto's Testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Louis Fisher's Testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform  

• GAO Report "Intelligence Agencies: Personnel Practices at CIA, NSA, and DIA Compared With Those of Other Agencies" 
  
• Anthony Rapa, When Secrecy Threatens Security: Edmonds v. Department of Justice and a Proposal to Reform the State Secrets Privilege, 37 Seton Hall L. Rev. 233 (2006).
• Jamie Sasser, THE SILENCED CITIZENS: THE POST-GARCETTI LANDSCAPE FOR PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES WORKING IN NATIONAL SECURITY, 41 U. Rich. L. Rev. 759 (2007).
• Ellen Yaroshefsky, LAWYERING AT THE EDGE: UNPOPULAR CLIENTS, DIFFICULT CASES, ZEALOUS ADVOCATES: MILITARY LAWYERING AT THE EDGE OF THE RULE OF LAW AT GUANTANAMO: SHOULD LAWYERS BE PERMITTED TO VIOLATE THE LAW?, 36 Hofstra L. Rev. 563 (2007).
• John D. Castiglione, A Structuralist Critique of the Journalist's Privilege, 23 J. L. & Politics 115 (2007).
• Nadine Strossen, FREE SPEECH IN AN ERA OF TERRORISM: THE REGULATION OF EXTREMIST SPEECH IN THE ERA OF MASS DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS: IS BRANDENBURG TOLERANCE OBSOLETE IN THE TERRORIST ERA?, 36 Pepp. L. Rev. 361 (2009).
• Michael P. Scharf & Colin T. McLaughlin, THE FIFTH PLAGUE: On Terrorism and Whistleblowing, 38 Case W. Res. J. Int'l L. 567 (2006/2007).
• Amanda C. Leiter, WHISTLE ... AND YOU'VE GOT AN AUDIENCE, 36 Fordham Urb. L.J. 747 (2009).
• Sarah Wood Borak, The Legacy of "Deep Throat": The Disclosure Process of the Whistleblower Protection Act Amendments of 1994 and the No FEAR Act of 2002, 59 U. Miami L. Rev. 617 (2005).
• Sanjour v. EPA (1st Amendment)
• Snepp v. USA (CIA) (Pre-Publication Review)
• Edmonds v. FBI (States Secret)
• Edmonds v. FBI (Freedom of Infromation Act)
• Weaver v. USIA (1st Amendment)
• Shaffer v. DIA (Right to Counsel)
• Tripp v. Executive Office of the President (Privacy Act)
• Hatfill v. Gonzales (Privacy Act)
• Lee v. DOJ (Privacy Act)
  
• Turner v. Gonzales (Title VII)

• A Review of the FBI's Response to John Roberts on 60 Minutes
• Sibel Edmonds OIG Report

March 23, 2010. Washington, D.C. Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, has agreed to participate in an independent debate with Mr. Norman L. Eisen, Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, regarding the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (S. 372), which is currently being "hotlined" in the Senate. Mr. Eisen has currently declined the invitation to participate in the debate.