S. 874 · Passed Senate · Government Operations and Politics

Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2025

Sponsor: Gary C. Peters (D-MI)

What it does

• Expand whistleblower protections for federal contractor and grant recipient employees to cover refusal to obey unlawful orders.
• Apply whistleblower protections to current and former intelligence community members and state, local, or tribal government employees working for federal contractors or grant recipients.
• Prohibit predispute arbitration agreements from waiving whistleblower protections and render any such waivers unenforceable.
• Authorize federal agencies to take disciplinary action against executive branch officials who request contractors or grant recipients to retaliate against protected employees.

Official summary

Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2025 This bill expands whistleblower protections for employees of federal contractors and grant recipients to include the act of refusing to obey an unlawful order and to apply these protections to members of the intelligence community and other governmental employees. Current law protects employees of federal contractors or grant recipients from a reprisal (i.e., discharge, demotion, or discrimination) for disclosing evidence to Congress or another appropriate official of certain misconduct involving federal contracts, grants, or funds. The bill expands these protections to include an employee's refusal to obey an order that would require the employee to violate a law, rule, or regulation related to any contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant. The bill also specifies that these protections apply to employees of federal contractors or grant recipients who are current or former members of the intelligence community or employees of state, local, or tribal governments. Further, the bill specifies that these protections may not be waived in a predispute arbitration agreement and renders any such agreement unenforceable. The…

Latest action

May 4, 2026: Held at the desk.

Committee: Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs