Financial Reform Bill Strengthens FCA’s Anti-Retaliation Provisions

Congress has extended the FCA’s retaliation protections to include whistleblowers’ families.  The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act extended the False Claims Act’s (FCA) anti-retaliation protections, which formerly reached only whistleblowers, to “associated others.”  By reducing one of whistleblowers’ common concerns, this expanded protection offers further encouragement for whistleblowers to come forward with information about fraud.  The new law also imposes a three-year statute of limitations on retaliation actions, helping to clarify some confusion under the previous version of the FCA.