Whistleblower Attorneys Offer Detailed Recommendations for DOJ Whistleblower Award Program
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has commenced a “90-day policy sprint” to develop a whistleblower award program. On March 22, attorneys from the whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto (KKC) sent a letter to the DOJ offering detailed recommendations on establishing an effective whistleblower award program.
The whistleblower attorneys urge the DOJ to largely model its program off of the Dodd-Frank Act programs at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In announcing the DOJ program, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco stated that these programs “have proven indispensable ” and the attorneys at KKC argue that they provide a clear model for an effective whistleblower award program.
Specifically, the KKC attorneys call on the DOJ to set up anonymous and confidential reporting channels, establish a dedicated whistleblower office, offer award eligibility to whistleblowers engaged in misconduct, and administer awards in a manner consistent with the Dodd-Frank Act. They also call on the DOJ to align their program with the mandates set forth in the U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption and to help change the agency’s culture around whistleblowing by recognizing National Whistleblower Day.
KKC founding partner Stephen M. Kohn recently authored a piece for Bloomberg Law laying out some of these key recommendations as well as potential pitfalls the DOJ program may face.
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May 9, 2025
