Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2025
H.R. 5578 – Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Federal Contractors and Related Workers
119th Congress
H.R. 5578 would broaden protections for people who report problems with federal contracts and grants, including contractors, their employees, and certain personal services workers. It covers both defense and non‑defense agencies and limits when these people can face punishment for refusing illegal orders or disclosing certain issues. The bill was introduced in the House and sent to oversight and armed services committees for review.
- Bill Number
- H.R.5578
- Chamber
- house
- Introduced
- 9/26/2025
What This Bill Does
The bill updates existing whistleblower laws that apply to federal contractors and grantees. It replaces the narrower term “employee” with a new, wider category called “protected individual.” This category includes contractors, subcontractors, grantees, subgrantees, their current and certain former employees, and people doing personal services work under contract for the federal government, the Department of Defense (DoD), or NASA. It also makes clear that this includes state, tribal, territorial, and local governments and certain intelligence community elements working under these contracts or grants. The bill states that a protected individual cannot be fired, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against for two main things: refusing to obey an order that would require violating a law, rule, or regulation related to a contract or grant, and disclosing certain types of information to approved officials or bodies. For DoD and NASA, this includes evidence of gross mismanagement or gross waste of contract or grant funds, abuse of authority, legal violations related to contracts or grants, and substantial and specific dangers to public health or safety. For non‑defense agencies, it includes similar problems with any federal contract or grant and substantial and specific dangers to public health or safety. The bill also addresses the role of executive branch officials. It says that executive officials do not have the authority to ask a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee to retaliate against a protected person in ways that the law forbids. It directs investigators, when handling whistleblower complaints, to be able to propose disciplinary action against any executive branch official who requested such retaliation. Finally, the bill clarifies that the rights, forums, and remedies given in these whistleblower sections cannot be waived. This means people cannot be made to sign away these protections in contracts, workplace policies, forms, or conditions of employment, including through predispute arbitration agreements. The bill also cleans up and renumbers some subsections of the existing statutes to fit these changes.