House Strengthens Financial Whistleblower Protections
By Shanna Devine, Public Citizen
On Tuesday evening in a sweeping 410 – 12 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2515, introduced by U.S. Reps. Al Green (D-Texas) and Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), which protects whistleblowers who report potential violations of federal securities laws to their employers.
Due to a drafting error in Dodd-Frank, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the definition of “whistleblower” requires an individual to report a possible securities law violation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to qualify for protection against retaliation. H.R. 2515 corrects this error. Public Citizen and its allies supported the legislation.
The overwhelming bipartisan support for S. 2515 demonstrates that the fight against corporate crime crosses party lines.
Since nearly all whistleblowers first report to their bosses, this legislation takes an important step in protecting conscientious employees who keep corporations honest. If the U.S. Senate affirms, whistleblowers will be protected from retaliation if they report misconduct internally.
We look forward to working with the Senate to pass this commonsense, bipartisan measure.