[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1149 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1149
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to further enhance anti-
retaliation protections for whistleblowers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 26, 2025
Mr. Grassley (for himself, Ms. Warren, Ms. Collins, Mr. Warnock, and
Ms. Cortez Masto) introduced the following bill; which was read twice
and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to further enhance anti-
retaliation protections for whistleblowers, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``SEC Whistleblower Reform Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS FOR INTERNAL DISCLOSURES.
(a) In General.--Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(15 U.S.C. 78u-6) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(6)--
(A) by striking ``The term'' and inserting the
following:
``(A) In general.--The term''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Special rule.--Solely for the purposes of
subsection (h)(1), the term `whistleblower' includes
any individual who takes, or 2 or more individuals
acting jointly who take, an action described in
subsection (h)(1)(A), that the individual or 2 or more
individuals reasonably believe relates to a violation
of any law, rule, or regulation subject to the
jurisdiction of the Commission, the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board, the Municipal Securities
Rulemaking Board, or a self-regulatory organization.'';
and
(2) in subsection (h)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by
inserting ``or post-employment'' after ``of
employment'';
(ii) in clause (i), by inserting ``, in
writing or orally if the oral report is
documented,'' after ``to the Commission'';
(iii) in clause (ii), by striking ``or'' at
the end;
(iv) in clause (iii), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and
(v) by adding at the end the following:
``(iv) in providing information regarding
any conduct that the whistleblower reasonably
believes constitutes a violation of any law,
rule, or regulation subject to the jurisdiction
of the Commission to--
``(I) a person with supervisory
authority over the whistleblower at the
employer of the whistleblower, if that
employer is an entity registered with,
or required to be registered with, or
otherwise subject to the jurisdiction
of, the Commission, the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board, a self-
regulatory organization, or a State
securities commission or office
performing like functions; or
``(II) another individual working
for the employer described in subclause
(I) who the whistleblower reasonably
believes has the authority to--
``(aa) investigate,
discover, or terminate the
misconduct; or
``(bb) take any other
action to address the
misconduct.''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the end the
following:
``(iv) Jury trial.--A person against which
an action is brought under this subsection
shall be entitled to a jury trial.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
apply to any claim involving a violation of section 21F(h)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u-6(h)(1)), including a
claim in an enforcement action or proceeding brought by the Securities
and Exchange Commission, that is--
(1) pending in any appropriate judicial or administrative
forum, as of the date of enactment of this Act; or
(2) filed after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. PROMPT PAYMENT OF AWARDS.
Section 21F(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C.
78u-6(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Timely processing of claims.--
``(A) Initial disposition.--
``(i) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the Commission shall make an
initial disposition with respect to a claim
submitted by a whistleblower for an award under
this section (referred to in this paragraph as
an `award claim') not later than the later of--
``(I) the date that is 1 year after
the deadline established by the
Commission, by rule, for the
whistleblower to file the award claim;
or
``(II) the date that is 1 year
after the final resolution of all
litigation, including any appeals,
concerning the covered action or
related action.
``(ii) Multiple actions.--If an award claim
involves 1 or more related actions, the
requirement under clause (i) shall apply with
respect to the latest deadline with respect to
the actions.
``(B) Exceptions.--
``(i) Initial extension.--If the Director
of the Division of Enforcement of the
Commission (referred to in this paragraph as
the `Director'), or the designee of the
Director, determines that an award claim is
sufficiently complex or involves more than 1
whistleblower, or if other good cause exists
such that the Commission cannot reasonably
satisfy the requirements under subparagraph
(A), as determined by the Director or the
designee, as applicable, the Director or the
designee, after providing notice to the
Chairman of the Commission (referred to in this
paragraph as the `Chairman'), may extend the
deadline with respect to the satisfaction of
those requirements by not more than 180 days.
``(ii) Additional extensions.--If, after
providing an extension under clause (i), the
Director, or the designee of the Director,
determines that good cause exists such that the
Commission cannot reasonably satisfy the
requirement under subparagraph (A), the
Director or the designee of the Director, may
extend the deadline described in clause (i) as
needed for 1 or more additional successive 180-
day periods only after providing notice to and
receiving approval from the Commission.
``(iii) Notice to whistleblower required.--
If the Director, or the designee of the
Director, exercises authority under clause (i)
or (ii), the Director or the designee, as
applicable, shall submit to the whistleblower
who filed the award claim that is subject to
that action by the Director or the designee a
written notification of that action.
``(C) Applicability.--This paragraph shall apply
only to an award claim that the Director of the
designee of the Director determines is timely submitted
under a deadline established by the Commission after
the date of enactment of this paragraph.''.
SEC. 4. NONENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(15 U.S.C. 78u-6) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(k) Nonenforceability of Certain Provisions Waiving Rights and
Remedies or Requiring Arbitration.--
``(1) Waiver of rights and remedies.--The rights and
remedies provided in this section may not be waived by any
agreement, policy form, or condition of employment, including
by a predispute arbitration agreement.
``(2) Predispute arbitration agreement.--No predispute
arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if the
agreement requires the arbitration of a dispute arising under
this section.''.
(b) Applicability.--Subsection (k) of section 21F of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u-6), as added by subsection (a),
shall apply with respect to any action that is filed on or after, or
that is pending as of, the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.
The Securities and Exchange Commission may issue any rules that are
necessary or appropriate to carry out this Act consistent with the
purposes of section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15
U.S.C. 78u-6), as amended by this Act.
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