Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 124.djvu/1770

 124 STAT. 1744 PUBLIC LAW 111–203—JULY 21, 2010 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION AGAINST RETALIATION.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No employer may discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, directly or indirectly, or in any other manner discriminate against, a whistle- blower in the terms and conditions of employment because of any lawful act done by the whistleblower— ‘‘(i) in providing information to the Commission in accordance with subsection (b); or ‘‘(ii) in assisting in any investigation or judicial or administrative action of the Commission based upon or related to such information. ‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT.— ‘‘(i) CAUSE OF ACTION.—An individual who alleges discharge or other discrimination in violation of subparagraph (A) may bring an action under this sub- section in the appropriate district court of the United States for the relief provided in subparagraph (C), unless the individual who is alleging discharge or other discrimination in violation of subparagraph (A) is an employee of the Federal Government, in which case the individual shall only bring an action under section 1221 of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(ii) SUBPOENAS.—A subpoena requiring the attendance of a witness at a trial or hearing conducted under this subsection may be served at any place in the United States. ‘‘(iii) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action under this subsection may not be brought more than 2 years after the date on which the violation reported in subparagraph (A) is committed. ‘‘(C) RELIEF.—Relief for an individual prevailing in an action brought under subparagraph (B) shall include— ‘‘(i) reinstatement with the same seniority status that the individual would have had, but for the discrimination; ‘‘(ii) the amount of back pay otherwise owed to the individual, with interest; and ‘‘(iii) compensation for any special damages sus- tained as a result of the discharge or discrimination, including litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney’s fees. ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subpara- graphs (B) and (C), the Commission, and any officer or employee of the Commission, shall not disclose any informa- tion, including information provided by a whistleblower to the Commission, which could reasonably be expected to reveal the identity of a whistleblower, except in accord- ance with the provisions of section 552a of title 5, United States Code, unless and until required to be disclosed to a defendant or respondent in connection with a public proceeding instituted by the Commission or any entity described in subparagraph (C). For purposes of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, this paragraph shall be considered a statute described in subsection (b)(3)(B) of such section 552.