On Wednesday the House of Representatives approved a continuing appropriations bill that incorporates the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510), including its food industry worker whistleblower protection provisions. The Senate had approved the food safety measure on November 30. The House cleared the broader 2011 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act (H.R. 3082) by a narrow 212-206 margin. The larger funding bill will now need Senate approval.

The whistleblower provisions at issue apply to employees involved with the manufacture, processing, packing, transporting, distribution, reception, holding, or importation of food. Under these provisions, an employer in the food industry would be precluded from firing or otherwise discriminating against an employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because the employee informed the employer or a government official of a perceived violation of the food safety act; testified or otherwise assisted in a proceeding regarding the violation; or objected to or refused to participate in an activity or practice that he or she believed to be in violation of the Act. The aggrieved employee would have the right to file a complaint with the Department of Labor and, if the complaint were to remain unresolved within a proscribed time period, an action in federal court.

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