Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 123.djvu/321

 123STA T . 3 0 1 PUBLIC LA W 111 –5—FE B.1 7, 200 9(d)NONE N F O RC E ABIL I TY OF C ERTAIN P RO V I S IONS W AIVIN GR IG H TS AN D RE M EDIES OR RE QU IRING A RBITRATION OF D IS P UTES .— ( 1 ) WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.— Exceptas p rovi ded un der para g rap h ( 3 ), the rights and re m edies provided f or in this section ma y not b e w aived by any agreement, po l icy, form, or condition of employment, including by any predispute arbitration agreement. ( 2 ) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS.—Except as pro - vided under paragraph (3), no predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it re q uires arbitration of a dispute arising under this section. (3) E X CEPTION FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.— Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), an arbitration provi- sion in a collective bargaining agreement shall be enforceable as to disputes arising under the collective bargaining agree- ment. (e) REQUIREMENT TO POST NOTICE OF RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.— Any employer receiving covered funds shall post notice of the rights and remedies provided under this section. (f) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— (1) NO IMPLIED AUTHORITY TO RETALIATE FOR NON-PRO- TECTED DISCLOSURES.—Nothing in this section may be con- strued to authori z e the discharge of, demotion of, or discrimina- tion against an employee for a disclosure other than a disclosure protected by subsection (a) or to modify or derogate from a right or remedy otherwise available to the employee. (2) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LA W S.—Nothing in this section may be construed to preempt, preclude, or limit the protections provided for public or private employees under S tate whistle- blower laws. (g) DEFINITIONS.— I n this section (1) ABUSE OF AUTHORITY.— T he term ‘ ‘abuse of authority ’ ’ means an arbitrary and capricious exercise of authority by a contracting official or employee that adversely affects the rights of any person, or that results in personal gain or advan- tage to the official or employee or to preferred other persons. (2) COVERED FUNDS.—The term ‘‘covered funds’’ means any contract, grant, or other payment received by any non- F ederal employer if— (A) the Federal G overnment provides any portion of the money or property that is provided, requested, or demanded and ( B ) at least some of the funds are appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act. (3) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’— (A) except as provided under subparagraph (B), means an individual performing services on behalf of an employer; and (B) does not include any Federal employee or member of the uniformed services (as that term is defined in section 1 0 1(a)( 5 ) of title 10, U nited States Code). ( 4 ) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘non-Federal employer’’— (A) means any employer— (i) with respect to covered funds— (I) the contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or recipient, as the case may be, if the contractor,