123STA T . 2 97PUBLIC LA W 111 –5—FE B. 17 , 2 0 09 tofacil itat e t r ac k i ng t h e s ef u n d s through T reasur y and agency accounting syste m s , the S ecretary of the Treasury shall ensure that all funds a p propriated in this A ct shall b e established in separate Treasury accounts, unless a w ai v er from this provision is approved by the D irector of the O ffice of M anagement and B udget .SEC.15 5 2 . SE T-A S ID E FOR STATE A N D L OCAL G O V ERN M ENT RE P ORTING AND RECORD K EEPING. F ederal agencies receiving funds under this Act, may, after following the notice and comment rulemaking re q uirements under the Administrative P rocedures Act (5U .S. C .5 0 0 ) , reasonably ad j ust applicable limits on administrative e x penditures for Federal awards to help award recipients defray the costs of data collection require - ments initiated pursuant to this Act. SEC. 155 3 . PROTECTING STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND CON- TRACTOR WH ISTLE B LOWERS. (a) P ROHIB I T IO N O FREP RI SAL S. — An employee of any non-Fed- eral employer receiving covered funds may not be discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for dis- closing, including a disclosure made in the ordinary course of an employee ’ s duties, to the Board, an inspector general, the Comp- troller G eneral, a member of Congress, a State or Federal regulatory or law enforcement agency, a person with supervisory authority over the employee (or such other person working for the employer who has the authority to investigate, discover, or terminate mis- conduct), a court or grand jury, the head of a Federal agency, or their representatives, information that the employee reasonably believes is evidence of— ( 1 ) gross mismanagement of an agency contract or grant relating to covered funds
( 2 ) a gross waste of covered funds; ( 3 ) a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety related to the implementation or use of covered funds; ( 4 ) an abuse of authority related to the implementation or use of covered funds; or (5) a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to an agency contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract) or grant, awarded or issued relating to covered funds. (b) I N V ESTI G ATION OF CO M PLAINTS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—A person who believes that the person has been subjected to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (a) may submit a complaint regarding the reprisal to the appro- priate inspector general. E xcept as provided under paragraph (3), unless the inspector general determines that the complaint is frivolous, does not relate to covered funds, or another Federal or State judicial or administrative proceeding has previously been invoked to resolve such complaint, the inspector general shall investigate the complaint and, upon completion of such investigation, submit a report of the findings of the investiga- tion to the person, the person’s employer, the head of the appropriate agency, and the Board. (2) TIME LIMITATIONS FOR A C TIONS.— (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under subpara- graph (B), the inspector general shall, not later than 1 8 0 days after receiving a complaint under paragraph (1)— Deadlin e .
