On December 23, 2020, the Criminal Anti-Retaliation Act of 2019 was enacted into law, making it unlawful for employers to retaliate against private sector employees, contractors, subcontractors, or agents of the employer, who report criminal antitrust violations or provide cooperation in related federal investigations or prosecutions. This law is significant in that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division, largely depends on insider information to uncover anticompetitive behavior in industries where collusion between competitors is difficult to detect.
These whistleblower protections extend to individuals reporting conduct reasonably believed to be violations of criminal antitrust laws or other federal crimes related to DOJ antitrust investigations. However, these protections do not apply to any individuals who engaged or attempted to engage in the underlying criminal activity of concern or otherwise obstructed or attempted to obstruct a DOJ investigation.
The act makes it unlawful for employers to “discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other manner discriminate against a covered individual in the terms and conditions of employment” for lawfully reporting potential violations of antitrust laws. Although the new law does not afford the whistleblower a monetary reward for cooperating with the DOJ, it does offer the individual relief by way of reinstatement, back pay, and attorney’s fees and litigation costs if applicable.
If you find yourself in this predicament at work, the experienced antitrust attorneys at Dysart, Willis, Houchin & Hubbard can protect your rights under this new bill when reporting the misconduct to the DOJ or to your supervisor. On the other hand, if you are an employer participating in such violations, our attorneys can assist in exploring your options under the Antitrust Divison’s leniency program or with other legal defense strategies to minimize your criminal and civil exposure under the law.