A new program aimed at incentivizing whistleblower reports of antitrust law violations is likely to increase reports and signals further reliance by the federal government on non-governmental actors, write Gregory Keating and Holly McDaniel of Littler Mendelson.
The DOJ’s Antitrust Division has formally launched a new whistleblower rewards program, offering financial incentives to individuals who report suspected antitrust violations that lead to the government recovering $1 million or more in criminal fines or other penalties. The program contains some restrictions on who can collect these financial incentives, but the existence of the incentives alone is likely to increase reports of antitrust violations.
The program was created to help the DOJ identify and prosecute antitrust violations, which often occur in secret with only a few corporate insiders being privy to the information. The antitrust whistleblowers program’s launch comes shortly after the creation and recent expansion of the Criminal Division’s corporate whistleblower awards pilot program, potentially signaling a growing reliance on non-governmental actors to effectuate the DOJ’s purpose.
For companies, this means ensuring that robust reporting mechanisms exist for employees to raise any concerns internally and training front-line managers and compliance professionals to ensure concerns are properly escalated.
The antitrust whistleblower program will...
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