PROTECTION FOR CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES FROM REPRISAL FOR DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.

SEC. 846. PROTECTION FOR CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES FROM REPRISAL FOR DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.(a) Increased Protection From Reprisal.—Subsection (a) of section 2409 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1) by striking “disclosing to a Member of Congress” and inserting “disclosing to a Member of Congress, a representative of a committee of Congress, an Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office, a Department of Defense employee responsible for contract oversight or management,”; and(2) by striking “information relating to a substantial violation of law related to a contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract)” and inserting “information that the employee reasonably believes is evidence of gross mismanagement of a Department of Defense contract or grant, a gross waste of Department of Defense funds, a substantial 122 STAT. 242 and specific danger to public health or safety, or a violation of law related to a Department of Defense contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract) or grant”.(b) Clarification of Inspector General Determination.—Subsection (b) of such section is amended—(1) by inserting “(1)” after “Investigation of Complaints.—”;(2) by striking “an agency” and inserting “the Department of Defense, or the Inspector General of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the case of a complaint regarding the National Aeronautics and Space Administration”; and(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:“(2)(A) Except as provided under subparagraph (B), the Inspector General shall make a determination that a complaint is frivolous or submit a report under paragraph (1) within 180 days after receiving the complaint.“(B) If the Inspector General is unable to complete an investigation in time to submit a report within the 180-day period specified in subparagraph (A) and the person submitting the complaint agrees to an extension of time, the Inspector General shall submit a report under paragraph (1) within such additional period of time as shall be agreed upon between the Inspector General and the person submitting the complaint.”.(c) Acceleration of Schedule for Denying Relief or Providing Remedy.—Subsection (c) of such section is amended—(1) in paragraph (1), by striking “If the head of the agency determines that a contractor has subjected a person to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (a), the head of the agency may” and inserting after “(1)” the following: “Not later than 30 days after receiving an Inspector General report pursuant to subsection (b), the head of the agency concerned shall determine whether there is sufficient basis to conclude that the contractor concerned has subjected the complainant to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (a) and shall either issue an order denying relief or shall”;(2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraphs:“(2) If the head of an executive agency issues an order denying relief under paragraph (1) or has not issued an order within 210 days after the submission of a complaint under subsection (b), or in the case of an extension of time under paragraph (b)(2)(B), not later than 30 days after the expiration of the extension of time, and there is no showing that such delay is due to the bad faith of the complainant, the complainant shall be deemed to have exhausted all administrative remedies with respect to the complaint, and the complainant may bring a de novo action at law or equity against the contractor to seek compensatory damages and other relief available under this section in the appropriate district court of the United States, which shall have jurisdiction over such an action without regard to the amount in controversy. Such an action shall, at the request of either party to the action, be tried by the court with a jury.“(3) An Inspector General determination and an agency head order denying relief under paragraph (2) shall be admissible in 122 STAT. 243 evidence in any de novo action at law or equity brought pursuant to this subsection.”.(d) Definitions.—Subsection (e) of such section is amended—(1) in paragraph (4), by inserting “or a grant” after “a contract”; and(2) by inserting before the period at the end the following: “and any Inspector General that receives funding from, or has oversight over contracts awarded for or on behalf of, the Secretary of Defense”.