Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 100 Part 4.djvu/229

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PUBLIC LAW 99-562—OCT. 27, 1986

100 STAT. 3157

than 25 percent and not more than 30 percent of the proceeds of the action or settlement and shall be paid out of such proceeds. Such person shall also receive an amount for reasonable expenses which the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, plus reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. All such expenses, fees, and costs shall be awarded against the defendant. "(3) If the Government does not proceed with the action and the person bringing the action conducts the action, the court may award to the defendant its reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses if the defendant prevails in the action and the court finds that the claim of the person bringing the actions was clearly frivolous, clearly vexatious, or brought primarily for purposes of harassment. "(e) CERTAIN ACTIONS BARRED.—(1) No court shall have jurisdic- Armed Forces. tion over an action brought by a former or present member of the armed forces under subsection (b) of this section against a member of the armed forces arising out of such person's service in the armed forces. "(2)(A) No court shall have jurisdiction over an action brought under subsection (b) against a Member of Congress, a member of the judiciary, or a senior executive branch official if the action is based on evidence or information known to the Government when the action was brought. "(B) For purposes of this paragraph, 'senior executive branch official' means any officer or employee listed in section 201(f) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). "(3) In no event may a person bring an action under subsection (b) which is based upon allegations or transactions which are the subject of a civil suit or an administrative civil money penalty proceeding in which the Government is already a party. "(4)(A) No court shall have jurisdiction over an action under this section based upon the public disclosure of allegations or transactions in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, in a congressional, administrative, or Government Accounting Office report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, unless the action is brought by the Attorney General or the person bringing the action is an original source of the information. "(B) For purposes of this paragraph, 'original source' means an individual who has direct and independent knowledge of the information on which the allegations are based and has voluntarily provided the information to the Government before filing an action under this section which is based on the information. "(f)

GOVERNMENT NOT LIABLE FOR CERTAIN

EXPENSES.—The

Government is not liable for expenses which a person incurs in bringing an action under this section. "(g) FEES AND EXPENSES TO PREVAILING DEFENDANT.—In civil actions brought under this section by the United States, the provisions of section 2412(d) of title 28 shall apply.". SEC. 4. ENTITLEMENT TO RELIEF FOR DISCRIMINATION BY EMPLOYERS AGAINST EMPLOYEES WHO REPORT VIOLATIONS.

Section 3730 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by section 3 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: "(h) Any employee who is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment by his or her employer because of lawful acts done by the employee on behalf of the

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