Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2026 in plain language
1: Short title
This section states that the Act may be referred to as the Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2026.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2026 .
2: Defense contractor employees: protection from reprisal for disclosure of certain information
This section would rewrite the retaliation protections in 10 U.S.C. 4701, which cover people connected to Department of Defense and National Aeronautics and Space Administration contracts, subcontracts, grants, and subgrants. It replaces the current list of protected conduct so that a protected individual (defined below) may not be discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for: refusing to obey an order that would require the protected individual to violate a law, rule, or regulation related to a contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant; or disclosing to a person or body identified in paragraph (2) of the section information the protected individual reasonably believes is evidence of gross mismanagement of a Department of Defense contract or grant, gross waste of Department funds, abuse of authority relating to a Department contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant, or a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to a Department contract or subcontract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract or subcontract) or grant or subgrant; the same kinds of gross mismanagement, waste, abuse of authority, or violation of law involving a National Aeronautics and Space Administration contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant; or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. The section also states that it is not within the authority of an executive branch official to request that a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee carry out a reprisal that this section prohibits, and it updates a related provision in the same paragraph to refer to a protected individual instead of an employee. It adds a new item to the actions available in response to a reprisal complaint: proposing appropriate disciplinary action against any executive branch official for a request made of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee that subjected the complainant to a reprisal this section prohibits. It replaces the rule on waiving these rights so that the rights, forum, and remedies this section provides cannot be given up by any public or private agreement, policy, form, or condition of employment, including a predispute arbitration agreement. It removes the current subsection (e) of the statute and renumbers the two subsections that follow it (the old subsection (f) becomes (e), and the old subsection (g) becomes (f)); in the newly renumbered subsection (e), it replaces references to an employee and the employee with a protected individual and the protected individual. Finally, it defines protected individual to mean: a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee of the Department of Defense or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, including the government of any State, the District of Columbia, an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other U.S. territory or possession, or a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of any of those governments, or an element of the intelligence community (as defined in the National Security Act of 1947) within the Department of Defense; an employee (or a former employee whose protected disclosure or protected activity occurred before termination) of any such contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee, including an employee of the governmental entities just listed; or a person performing personal services for the Department of Defense or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under a personal services contract or agreement, but only if that person also engages in an activity for which this section prohibits reprisal, including such a person performing personal services for the governmental entities just listed.
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2. Defense contractor employees: protection from reprisal for disclosure of certain information Section 4701 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)— (I) by striking An employee and all that follows through services contractor and inserting A protected individual ; and (II) by striking disclosing and all that follows through evidence of ; and (ii) by striking subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) and inserting the following subparagraphs: (A) Refusing to obey an order that would require the protected individual to violate a law, rule, or regulation related to any contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant. (B) Disclosing to a person or body described in paragraph (2) information that the protected individual reasonably believes is evidence of the following: (i) Gross mismanagement of any Department of Defense contract or grant, any gross waste of Department funds, any abuse of authority relating to any Department contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant, or any violation of law, rule, or regulation related to any Department contract or subcontract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract or subcontract) or grant or subgrant. (ii) Gross mismanagement of any National Aeronautics and Space Administration contract or grant, any gross waste of Administration funds, any abuse of authority relating to an Administration contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant, or any violation of law, rule, or regulation related to any Administration contract or subcontract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract or subcontract) or grant or subgrant. (iii) A substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. ; and (B) in paragraph (3)— (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking an employee and inserting a protected individual ; and (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following subparagraph: (B) it shall not be within the authority of an executive branch official to request that a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee engage in a reprisal prohibited by paragraph (1). ; (2) in subsection (c)— (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following subparagraph: (E) Propose appropriate disciplinary action against any executive branch official for any request made of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee that subjected the complainant to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (a). ; and (B) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the following paragraph: (8) Clarification for scope of waiver restrictions The rights, forum, and remedies provided for in this section may not be waived by any public or private agreement, policy, form, or condition of employment, including by any predispute arbitration agreement. ; (3) by striking subsection (e) and redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively; (4) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— (A) by striking an employee and inserting a protected individual ; and (B) by striking the employee and inserting the protected individual ; and (5) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (8) The term protected individual means— (A) a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee of the Department of Defense or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, including— (i) the government of each of the several States, the District of Columbia, an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States; (ii) the government of any political subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality of, a government listed in clause (i); and (iii) an element of the intelligence community (as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3003 )) within the Department of Defense; (B) an employee of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee of the Department of Defense or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or a former employee of such contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee whose protected disclosure or engagement in any activity protected against reprisal under this section occurred prior to termination, including an employee of— (i) the government of each of the several States, the District of Columbia, an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States; (ii) the government of any political subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality of, a government listed in clause (i); and (iii) an element of the intelligence community (as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3003 )) within the Department of Defense; or (C) a person performing personal services for the Department of Defense or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration pursuant to a contractual agreement for the performance of personal services, including a personal services contract or personal services agreement, and who engages in an activity for which any reprisal is prohibited under subsection (a), including a person performing personal services pursuant such a contractual agreement for— (i) the government of each of the several States, the District of Columbia, an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States; (ii) the government of any political subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality of, a government listed in clause (i); and (iii) an element of the intelligence community (as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3003 )) within the Department of Defense. .
3: Enhancement of non-defense contractor protection from reprisal for disclosure of certain information
This section would similarly rewrite the retaliation protections in 41 U.S.C. 4712, which apply more broadly to Federal Government contracts, subcontracts, grants, and subgrants and are not limited to the Department of Defense or NASA. It replaces paragraph (1), under the heading In general, so that a protected individual (defined below) may not be discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for: refusing to obey an order that would require the protected individual to violate a law, rule, or regulation related to a contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant; or disclosing to a person or body identified in paragraph (2) of the section information the protected individual reasonably believes is evidence of gross mismanagement of a Federal contract or grant, gross waste of Federal funds, abuse of authority relating to a Federal contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant, or a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to a Federal contract or subcontract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract or subcontract) or grant or subgrant, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. As in section 2, it states that it is not within the authority of an executive branch official to request that a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee carry out a reprisal this section prohibits, and it updates a related provision in the same paragraph to refer to a protected individual instead of an employee. It adds the same new item to the actions available in response to a reprisal complaint: proposing appropriate disciplinary action against any executive branch official for a request made of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee that subjected the complainant to a reprisal this section prohibits. It replaces the rule on waiving these rights with the same nonwaiver rule: the rights, forum, and remedies this section provides cannot be given up by any public or private agreement, policy, form, or condition of employment, including a predispute arbitration agreement. In subsection (e), it replaces references to an employee and the employee with a protected individual and the protected individual. It removes the current subsection (f) of the statute and renumbers the two subsections that follow it (the old subsection (g) becomes (f), and the old subsection (h) becomes (g)). Finally, it inserts a new definition of protected individual, to mean: a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee of the Federal Government, including the government of any State, the District of Columbia, an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other U.S. territory or possession, or a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of any of those governments, or an element of the intelligence community (as defined in the National Security Act of 1947); an employee (or a former employee whose protected disclosure or protected activity occurred before termination) of any such contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee, including an employee of the governmental entities just listed; or a person performing personal services for the Federal Government under a personal services contract or agreement, including such a person performing personal services for the governmental entities just listed.
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3. Enhancement of non-defense contractor protection from reprisal for disclosure of certain information Section 4712 of title 41, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following paragraph: (1) In general A protected individual may not be discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for the following: (A) Refusing to obey an order that would require the protected individual to violate a law, rule, or regulation related to any contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant. (B) Disclosing to a person or body described in paragraph (2) information that the protected individual reasonably believes is evidence of the following: (i) Gross mismanagement of any Federal contract or grant, any gross waste of Federal funds, any abuse of authority relating to any Federal contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant, or any violation of law, rule, or regulation related to any Federal contract or subcontract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract or subcontract) or grant or subgrant. (ii) A substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. ; and (B) in paragraph (3)— (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking an employee and inserting a protected individual ; and (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following subparagraph: (B) it shall not be within the authority of an executive branch official to request that a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee engage in a reprisal prohibited by paragraph (1). ; (2) in subsection (c)— (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (E) Propose appropriate disciplinary action against any executive branch official for any request made of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee that subjected the complainant to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (a). ; and (B) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the following paragraph: (7) Rights, forum, and remedies not waivable The rights, forum, and remedies provided for in this section may not be waived by any public or private agreement, policy, form, or condition of employment, including by any predispute arbitration agreement. ; (3) in subsection (e)— (A) by striking an employee and inserting a protected individual ; and (B) by striking the employee and inserting the protected individual ; (4) by striking subsection (f) and redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and (5) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraph: (3) The term protected individual means— (A) a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee of the Federal Government, including— (i) the government of each of the several States, the District of Columbia, an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States; (ii) the government of any political subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality of, a government listed in clause (i); and (iii) an element of the intelligence community (as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3003 )); (B) an employee of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee of the Federal Government or a former employee of such contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee whose protected disclosure or engagement in any activity protected against reprisal under this section occurred prior to termination, including an employee of— (i) the government of each of the several States, the District of Columbia, an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States; (ii) the government of any political subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality of, a government listed in clause (i); and (iii) an element of the intelligence community (as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3003 )); or (C) a person performing personal services for the Federal Government pursuant to a contractual agreement for the performance of personal services, including a personal services contract or personal services agreement, including a person performing personal services pursuant to such a contractual agreement for— (i) the government of each of the several States, the District of Columbia, an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States; (ii) the government of any political subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality of, a government listed in clause (i); and (iii) an element of the intelligence community (as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3003 )). . Passed the Senate May 21, 2026. Secretary