Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), along with Congressman Joe Neguse (D-CO), Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law and Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law introduced the Criminal Antitrust Anti-retaliation Act of 2020, legislation to extend whistleblower protections to private employees who report criminal antitrust violations to the federal government. The bill passed the U.S. Senate on October 17, 2019 and could head to the President’s desk following action in the House. 

“No one should face retaliation for blowing the whistle on illegal anticompetitive behavior,” said Chairman Nadler. “By extending whistleblower protections to employees who report criminal violations of antitrust laws to the federal government, the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act will protect countless consumers nationwide from harmful activity like price fixing.  I applaud Congressman Neguse for introducing this vital legislation that will improve the enforcement of our nation’s antitrust laws.”

“Since our nation’s founding, our country has had a rich tradition of working to protect whistleblowers. Today, more than ever honoring that history is tremendously important,” said Congressman Joe Neguse. “This legislation extends protections to individuals who step forward to report criminal antitrust violations and take on significant personal and professional risks as a result.” 

“I applaud my colleague, Congressman Joe Neguse for introducing the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act,” Cicilline said. “This important bill will ensure that monopolists do not retaliate against whistleblowers for exposing extreme violations of the antitrust laws, such as price and wage fixing. Information provided by whistleblowers at these companies is critical for law enforcement purposes. No worker should fear for their job or economic livelihood for exposing corporations that engage in criminal activity.”

“I have worked throughout my career to protect whistleblowers from retaliation,” said Congressman Sensenbrenner. “These individuals help maintain the integrity of our laws, without whom we would never know of any wrongdoing. It is important to extend these protections to private sector employees reporting criminal antitrust violations to the federal government.”

The legislation comes from recommendations from the Government Accountability Office report released in July 2011.