S. 874 — Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2025

This section revises whistleblower protections under 10 U.S.C. § 4701 for personnel associated with Department of Defense (DoD) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contracts, grants, subgrants, and personal services agreements (i.e., prohibits reprisals against such personnel for specified disclosures or refusals to violate law). Specifically, it (1) defines "protected individual" to encompass contractors, grantees, subgrantees, and their employees (including those of state/local governments, tribes, territories, and DoD intelligence community elements) as well as personal services contractors for DoD or NASA; (2) protects such individuals from reprisal for refusing an order to violate law related to a DoD or NASA contract, grant, or subgrant, or for disclosing information reasonably believed to evidence gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or law violations related to such awards (including competition or negotiation) or a substantial danger to public health or safety; (3) prohibits executive branch officials from requesting reprisals and directs the Inspector General to propose disciplinary action against officials making such requests; (4) states that these protections cannot be waived by any agreement, including predispute arbitration agreements; and (5) strikes subsection (e) and makes conforming terminology changes throughout.

This section enhances whistleblower protections against reprisal under 41 U.S.C. §4712 (Pilot Program for Enhancement of Contractor Protection from Reprisal) for non-defense federal contractors, subcontractors, grantees, and subgrantees by making the following changes: (1) expanding protected activities in subsection (a)(1) to include a protected individual's refusal to obey an order violating any law, rule, or regulation related to a federal contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant, and disclosure to specified persons of evidence of gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, violations of law related to such awards (including competition or negotiation), or substantial dangers to public health or safety; (2) in subsection (a)(3), prohibiting executive branch officials from requesting reprisals and replacing "employee" with "protected individual"; (3) in subsection (c), authorizing investigators to propose disciplinary action against officials requesting reprisals and stating that statutory rights, forums, and remedies are non-waivable, including by predispute arbitration agreements; (4) in subsection (e), replacing references to "employee" with "protected individual"; (5) striking subsection (f) and redesignating subsequent subsections; and (6) defining "protected individual" to encompass contractors, subcontractors, grantees, subgrantees (including state/local governments, tribal organizations, territories, and intelligence community elements), their current and former employees, and persons performing personal services under contract. (As background, §4712 prohibits reprisals against contractor employees for lawful disclosures of wrongdoing in federal contracts and provides remedies through the agency inspector general, the contracting officer, or a designated federal office.)