On November 30, Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Lori Trahan (D-MA) introduced the FTC Whistleblower Act of 2021. The bill aims to incentivize and protect whistleblowers who disclose violations of laws overseen by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Whistleblower advocates applaud the bill as a step towards protecting FTC whistleblowers but also raise concerns about the bill’s lack of a mandatory minimum for awards.
The FTC Whistleblower Act would establish a whistleblower reward program for FTC whistleblowers modeled off the highly successful SEC Whistleblower Program. The program would offer protections to whistleblowers who face retaliation for blowing the whistle to the FTC. Furthermore, FTC whistleblowers could qualify for awards of 10-30% of the funds collected by the government in connection with their disclosure.
However, the FTC Whistleblower Act differs from the Dodd-Frank Act, the law which established the SEC whistleblower program, in that it does not mandate the payment of whistleblower awards. It states that the FTC “may” pay an award instead of “shall” pay an award to a qualified whistleblower. This lack of a mandatory award troubles some whistleblower advocates who think it will undermine the program. Similar concerns have been raised about the recently established anti-money laundering whistleblower program.
“The introduction of the FTC whistleblower bill is very encouraging,” said Siri Nelson, Executive Director of the National Whistleblower...
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