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Contract No. TJCOG— CBS -004 <br />F. Protecting State and Local Government and Contractor Whistleblowers. <br />The requirements of Section 1553 of the Act are summarized below. They include, but are not limited to: <br />Prohibition on Reprisals: An employee of any non - Federal employer receiving covered funds under the <br />American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111 -5, may not be discharged, demoted, or <br />otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for disclosing, including a disclosure made in the ordinary course <br />of an employee's duties, to the Accountability and Transparency Board, an inspector general, the Comptroller <br />General, a member of Congress, a State or Federal regulatory or law enforcement agency, a person with <br />supervisory authority over the employee (or other person working for the employer who has the authority to <br />investigate, discover or terminate misconduct, a court or grant jury, the head of a Federal agency, or their <br />representatives information that the employee believes is evidence o£ <br />• gross management of an agency contract or grant relating to covered funds; <br />• a gross waste of covered funds <br />• a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety related to the implementation or use of <br />covered funds; <br />• an abuse of authority related to the implementation or use of covered funds; or <br />• as violation of law, rule, or regulation related to an agency contract (including the competition for or <br />negotiation of a contract) or grant, awarded or issued relating to covered funds. <br />Agency Action: Not later than 30 days after receiving an inspector general report of an alleged reprisal, the <br />head of the agency shall determine whether there is sufficient basis to conclude that the non - Federal employer <br />has subjected the employee to a prohibited reprisal. The agency shall either issue an order denying relief in <br />whole or in part or shall take one or more of the following actions: <br />• Order the employer to take affirmative action to abate the reprisal. <br />• Order the employer to reinstate the person to the position that the person held before the reprisal, <br />together with compensation including back pay, compensatory damages, employment benefits, and <br />other terms and conditions of employment that would apply to the person in that position if the reprisal <br />had not been taken. <br />• Order the employer to pay the employee an amount equal to the aggregate amount of all costs and <br />expenses (including attorneys' fees and expert witnesses' fees) that were reasonably incurred by the <br />employee for or in connection with, bringing the complaint regarding the reprisal, as determined by the <br />head of a court of competent jurisdiction. <br />Nonenforceablity of Certain Provisions Waiving Rights and remedies or Requiring Arbitration: Except as <br />provided in a collective bargaining agreement, the rights and remedies provided to aggrieved employees by this <br />section may not be waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition of employment, including any <br />predispute arbitration agreement. No predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires <br />arbitration of a dispute arising out of this section. <br />Requirement to Post Notice of Rights and Remedies: Any employer receiving covered funds under the <br />American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111 -5, shall post notice of the rights and remedies <br />as required therein. (Refer to section 1553 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. <br />111 -5, www.Recovery.gov, for specific requirements of this section and prescribed language for the notices.). <br />G. RESERVED. <br />H. False Claims Act <br />Recipient and sub - recipients shall promptly refer to the DOE or other appropriate Inspector General any credible <br />evidence that a principal, employee, agent, contractor, sub - grantee, subcontractor or other person has submitted <br />a false claim under the False Claims Act or has committed a criminal or civil violation of laws pertaining to <br />fraud, conflict or interest, bribery, gratuity or similar misconduct involving those funds. <br />Page 20 of 34 <br />