Another Try on Whistleblower Reform Possible

One measure that came to the brink of enactment late in 2010 and that might see early action in 2011 involves a reform of whistleblower protection laws. Proposals have been pending for many years to broaden protections by covering more types of disclosures and give employees greater legal rights when challenging alleged retaliation, including the right to go to federal district court and have a jury trial under certain circumstances. The traditional holdup has been an attempt to increase rights for employees in national security-related positions. The Senate late last year passed a revised bill containing compromise language on that issue and sent it to the House, which dropped that language when some Republicans there objected that they had not had time to review it. The House leaders had hoped the Senate would take up the pared-down bill before adjourning but it didn’t. However, the events did show bipartisan agreement at least on the other aspects.