Senators Baldwin, Durbin, Ernst, and Grassley introduced S. 2529, the Whistleblower Programs Improvement Act (WPIA), which would protect corporate whistleblowers who report potential securities or commodities fraud to their employers and expedite the processing of applications for whistleblower awards at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This bill is similar to the Whistleblower Protection Reform Act of 2019 (H.R. 2515) that the House enacted by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of 410-12 in July 2019.
As there is bipartisan support for this non-controversial bipartisan legislation, hopefully the Senate will enact if promptly. Protecting internal whistleblowing benefits companies by providing an early warning of fraud and providing companies an opportunity to investigate and remedy fraud and other violations of securities and commodities laws.
