On July 31, in the waning days of the 112th Congress, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont introduced the "Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act," designated as S. 3462. The bill is designed to protect employees, contractors, subcontractors and agents from retaliation for providing information to the federal government about possible violations of the antitrust laws.

Specifically, the bill would make it unlawful for an employer to "demote, suspend, threaten, harass or discriminate against" an individual who assists the Department of Justice in connection with an antitrust investigation. As a remedy, the whistleblower will be permitted to bring an action seeking (1) reinstatement with the same seniority status the whistleblower would have had absent the discrimination; (2) back pay, with interest; and (3) compensation for any special damages sustained, including litigation costs, expert witness fees and reasonable attorney's fees. Notably, however, "whistleblower" status will not be afforded to any individual found to have "planned and initiated" the violation or attempted to do so.

As yet, no action has been taken on the bill since its introduction (not surprising, given that Congress has been on its summer recess almost since the date of introduction). Given the largely noncontroversial nature of the bill, however, it would not be surprising if it gets attached to some other piece of legislation that Congress needs to take up before the end of the session as an amendment and gets enacted through that process. Stay tuned.

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