Whistleblowers In Criminal Antitrust Activity Cases Protected from Retaliation

4514 Cole Ave, #600 | Dallas, Texas 75205

Call Kardell Law Group 214-306-8045

One of the final acts of the presidency of Donald Trump was to sign into law a Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act. The law prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who report violations of antitrust laws to the federal government or to their own internal higher-ups.

About the legislation

The legislation makes it illegal for employers to demote, discharge, threaten, harass, suspend or discriminate in any manner against employees who blew the whistle on criminal antitrust actions.

The whistleblower protections established in this new legislation only cover reporting criminal antitrust activity, such as bid rigging or price fixing. The protections do not cover reports of civil antitrust violations, nor does it offer protections to individuals who initiated or otherwise planned criminal activity. This means even if a person who committed criminal actions reports their own wrongdoing and assists in enforcement, they cannot escape liability for their actions.

Employees are allowed to file complaints against employers with the Secretary of the Department of Labor for violations of antirust legislation. If the DOL does not reach a decision on the case within 180 days, the case may be elevated to a U.S. District Court.

Awards in these cases can include back pay, interest on that back pay, special damages and full reinstatement to a previous position.

Over the last decade-plus, the government has made whistleblower protection a clear priority. There are more protections afforded to whistleblowers than ever before, and stiffer penalties associated with retaliating against whistleblowers to go along with those protections. The point has been to incentivize whistleblowers to come forward with their information, and it’s worked; whistleblower programs across government agencies are seeing record numbers of tips.

For more information about the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act, contact an experienced whistleblower attorney at Kardell Law Group.

By Steve Kardell | Published November 4, 2021 | Posted in Whistleblower Litigation

Awards & Honors

Our Office

Dallas Office
4514 Cole Ave
#600
Dallas, Texas 75205
Phone: 214-306-8045
Fax: 469-729-9926

Testimonials

"Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission." -Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower
"Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone." -V.B.
"Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope. In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them." -KS
"Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best." -S.S.