This June, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy introduced legislation to extend whistleblower protection for employees who provide information to the Department of Justice related to criminal antitrust violations.
The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act was designed to protect whistleblowers in criminal antitrust cases by creating a cause of action against employers for retaliating against an employee who provides information to the Department of Justice regarding conduct that violates the criminal antitrust laws. The Senate unanimously passed a similar version of the legislation last Congress. This bill allows an employee who believes he or she is the victim of retaliation to file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor, and provides that the employee will be reinstated to their job if the Secretary finds that they have been retaliated against.