Largely overshadowed by the rise in COVID-19 deaths and the
January 6, 2021, siege on the Capitol, the Criminal Antitrust
Anti-Retaliation Act of 2019 ("the Act") became law on
December 23, 2020. See 15 U.S.C. § 7a-3. The Act,
which Senator Chuck Grassley sponsored, prohibits employers from
retaliating against individuals who report criminal antitrust
violations to their employer or the federal government, or who
participate in a federal governmental criminal antitrust
investigation or proceeding.
Background
The Act's co-sponsor, Senator Patrick Leahy, introduced the
Act in 2012 as an answer to a 2011 Government Accountability Office
report calling for whistleblower protections for individuals who
report criminal antitrust violations. Although the Senate
unanimously passed prior iterations of the Act in 2013, 2015, and
2017, the House of Representatives never voted on them. The House
finally gave the Act a nod in the 116th congressional
session following the
