Bill Would Cover Govt. Employees Under False Claims Act

Government Executive and the Washington Post report on a bill that would state expressly that government employee whistleblowers may be plaintiffs under the False Claims Act. Federal employees could act as qui tam whistleblowers if they have reported fraud up the chain of command and no action occurred for one year. The Post indicates that the bill has bipartisan support in Congress but is opposed by the Department of Justice that "some of the proposed changes would interfere with law enforcement investigations and give employees an improper incentive to hide fraud from colleagues, then sue to recover a share of the proceeds."