Contents
(a)
(1)An employee of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee or personal services contractor may not be discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for disclosing to a person or body described in paragraph (2) information that the employee reasonably believes is evidence of the following:
(A)Gross mismanagement of a Department of Defense contract or grant, a gross waste of Department funds, an abuse of authority relating to a Department contract or grant, or a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to a Department contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract) or grant.
(B)Gross mismanagement of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration contract or grant, a gross waste of Administration funds, an abuse of authority relating to an Administration contract or grant, or a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to an Administration contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract) or grant.
(C)A substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.
(2)The persons and bodies described in this paragraph are the persons and bodies as follows:
(A)A Member of Congress or a representative of a committee of Congress.
(B)An Inspector General.
(C)The Government Accountability Office.
(D)An employee of the Department of Defense or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as applicable, responsible for contract oversight or management.
(E)An authorized official of the Department of Justice or other law enforcement agency.
(F)A court or grand jury.
(G)A management official or other employee of the contractor, subcontractor, grantee, subgrantee, or personal services contractor who has the responsibility to investigate, discover, or address misconduct.
(3)For the purposes of paragraph (1)—
(A)an employee who initiates or provides evidence of contractor, subcontractor, grantee, subgrantee, or personal services contractor misconduct in any judicial or administrative proceeding relating to waste, fraud, or abuse on a Department of Defense or National Aeronautics and Space Administration contract or grant shall be deemed to have made a disclosure covered by such paragraph; and
(B)a reprisal described in paragraph (1) is prohibited even if it is undertaken at the request of a Department or Administration official, unless the request takes the form of a nondiscretionary directive and is within the authority of the Department or Administration official making the request.
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