Whistleblowers would be granted more legal protection and greater security under the draft bill approved by the German Cabinet on Wednesday.
Though the European Union's whistleblower directive should have been implemented into German law by 2021, the previous government could not reach a deal on the changes.
Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, a member of the Free Democrats (FDP), had drafted the bill for the protection of people who reveal misconduct, abuse and other types of violations in corporations or in public administration.
"Employees in companies and public authorities are often the first to notice grievances and can ensure that violations of the law are discovered, investigated, prosecuted and stopped," Buschmann said.
Effective protections for whistleblowers could be "an essential building block for a good compliance system that strengthens a positive culture of mistakes," he added.
With the current legislation, whistleblowers submit themselves to significant risk when reporting misconduct or abuse.
To receive protection under the draft, the whistleblowers must either contact internal reporting offices in companies and public authorities or external reporting offices of the federal and state governments.
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