H.R. 10792: FTC Whistleblower Act of 2026

This bill would create a whistleblower program for people who report certain violations to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and it would add legal protections and financial rewards for those whistleblowers.

What counts as a covered violation

The bill applies to reports about violations of laws, rules, or orders enforced by the FTC. It also applies to violations of FTC orders that are already final and still in effect.

Who is protected

The bill protects current or former employees, contractors, subcontractors, grantees, subgrantees, agents, and some workers connected to those entities. It also covers people who help those individuals make protected reports.

Retaliation protections

An employer or other covered entity would be barred from retaliating against a whistleblower because they:

• report, or are suspected of reporting, a covered violation to the FTC, another government agency, a supervisor, or someone who can investigate or fix the issue;
• help in an investigation or legal proceeding related to the violation; or
• object to, or refuse to take part in, conduct they reasonably believe is a covered violation.

Retaliation includes firing, demotion, suspension, harassment, threats, or other adverse personnel action.

How a whistleblower could enforce these protections

If a whistleblower faces retaliation, they could sue under federal procedures. The bill also allows a lawsuit in federal district court with a jury trial. It sets deadlines for bringing claims, generally up to 6 years after the retaliation, or 3 years after the whistleblower knew or should have known the key facts, with an overall limit of 10 years.

What remedies a successful whistleblower could receive

If the whistleblower wins, the bill would allow remedies including:

• reinstatement to their job with restored seniority;
• triple back pay plus interest;
• other compensatory and consequential damages; and
• payment of litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney fees.

Limits on gag clauses and arbitration

The bill would prohibit employers from using policies, contracts, or other employment terms to waive these rights. It would also make predispute arbitration agreements unenforceable for these whistleblower claims. In addition, an employer could not block a person from communicating directly with a qualified government entity about a covered disclosure, including by enforcing or threatening to enforce confidentiality or non-disparagement agreements.

Confidentiality and immunity

The FTC and anyone receiving information from it would generally have to keep whistleblower-identifying information confidential. If disclosure is legally required, the whistleblower must get advance notice when possible. The bill also says a whistleblower is immune from civil and criminal liability for making a covered disclosure, as long as the disclosure is protected under the bill.

Financial rewards for whistleblowers

The bill would create a program under which whistleblowers can receive money if they voluntarily provide original information that helps the FTC successfully resolve a covered action. If the case leads to monetary sanctions over $1 million, the whistleblower award would generally be between 10% and 30% of the collected sanctions.

The FTC would decide the amount within that range, considering factors like how important the information was and how much help the whistleblower provided. Awards could be denied in some situations, such as if the whistleblower was convicted of a related crime, deliberately caused the violation on their own, failed to provide information in the required form, or was acting in an official law-enforcement or FTC role when they learned the information.

FTC whistleblower fund

The bill would create a Federal Trade Commission Consumer Protection Fund in the Treasury to pay whistleblower awards. Money from FTC monetary sanctions in covered actions would go into the fund, unless the fund already has more than $500 million. The FTC would be able to invest unused funds in U.S. obligations. The FTC would also have to submit annual reports to Congress about the program and the fund.

Other provisions

The bill says whistleblowers can still receive awards for conduct that happened before the law was enacted, and even before FTC regulations are issued under the bill, as long as the information was submitted after enactment. The FTC would also be allowed to write rules to carry out the law.

Relevant Companies

None found