Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2025

Key Points

• The bill broadens who counts as a "protected individual" under federal whistleblower law. It now covers not just employees of contractors, but also the contractors themselves, subcontractors, grantees, subgrantees, former employees, and people performing personal services for the government under contract.
• Workers are shielded from retaliation if they refuse to follow an illegal order or if they report waste, fraud, abuse of authority, or dangers to public health and safety related to federal contracts and grants.
• The bill explicitly bans executive branch officials from ordering contractors to retaliate against whistleblowers. If a federal official asks a company to punish someone for blowing the whistle, that official can face disciplinary action.
• These whistleblower rights cannot be signed away through employment agreements, company policies, or forced arbitration clauses. This closes a loophole that some employers used to prevent workers from pursuing whistleblower claims.
• The protections apply across both defense and non-defense agencies. Section 2 covers Department of Defense and NASA contractors, while Section 3 extends similar protections to contractors working with all other federal agencies.