119-s1149

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1149 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

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.
 <all>