S. 1154 — Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act of 2025

This section revises 5 U.S.C. §7211 to expand protections against interference with the right to petition Congress or furnish information thereto from federal employees to covered individuals (i.e., employees, former employees, or applicants for employment with a federal agency or its contractors, subcontractors, grantees, subgrantees, or personal services contractors). The section establishes administrative remedies for violations, as follows: (1) for covered individuals at general federal agencies (excluding FBI, intelligence community, and contractors), corrective action under Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) procedures in 5 U.S.C. §§1214 and 1221, akin to prohibited personnel practices; (2) for FBI personnel, under 5 U.S.C. §2303; (3) for intelligence community personnel, under specified National Security Act provisions (50 U.S.C. §§3234, 3341); and (4) for contractor personnel, under 10 U.S.C. §4701 or 41 U.S.C. §4712. (As background, these remedies mirror whistleblower protections for disclosures of wrongdoing, with burdens of proof from 5 U.S.C. §1221(e) applying uniformly.) The section further creates a private right of action in federal district court for de novo review if no final administrative decision is issued within 180 days (absent the covered individual's bad faith) or if relief is denied, providing relief such as 200% of lost wages and 100% of lost benefits (with interest), reinstatement, costs and attorney fees, compensatory damages, injunctive relief, or other appropriate remedies; such actions may be tried by jury upon request.