Auto industry whistleblowers may soon make millions for coming forward.
Sens. John Thune, R-S.D. and Bill Nelson, D-Fla. are set to introduce the Thune-Nelson Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act Thursday, which will allow employees or contractors of motor vehicle manufacturers, parts suppliers and dealerships to be awarded millions should they come forward with information on problems within their companies, according to the Detroit News.
Thune is the top Republican on the Commerce Committee. The bill is cosponsored by two members of the subcommittee on customer protection, Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. and Dean Heller, R-Nev.
The legislation “is intended to incentivize whistle-blowers from the automotive sector to voluntarily provide information to the U.S. Department of Transportation to prevent deaths and serious physical injuries by identifying problems much earlier than would have otherwise been possible,” the senators said in a statement.
The secretary of Transportation would be able to use his or her discretion to award whistleblowers up to 30 percent of the monetary penalties the Department of Transportation or the Department of Justice enforce that total more than $1 million, the bill dictates.
The Senate Commerce Committee is also holding a hearing Thursday on the recall by 10 major automakers of at least 7.8 million vehicles since last year over faulty parts. Honda, Chrysler, Takata and the deputy chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will all testify.
The Thune-Nelson bill is the first auto safety bill of its kind to be backed by a top Republican. It is modeled after a similar one that protects whistleblowers at the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
