---
kind: "section"
citation: "48 C.F.R. § 3.903"
title: "48"
number: "3.903"
heading: "Policy."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/48/3.903"
---

# §3.903. Policy.

- (a)
  - (1) Contractors and subcontractors are prohibited from discharging, demoting, or otherwise discriminating against an employee as a reprisal for disclosing, to any of the entities listed at [paragraph (b)](#b) of this section, information that the employee reasonably believes is—
    - (i) Evidence of gross mismanagement of a Federal contract;
    - (ii) A gross waste of Federal funds;
    - (iii) An abuse of authority relating to a Federal contract;
    - (iv) A substantial and specific danger to public health or safety; or
    - (v) A violation of law, rule, or regulation related to a Federal contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract).
  - (2) A reprisal is prohibited even if it is undertaken at the request of an executive branch official, unless the request takes the form of a non-discretionary directive and is within the authority of the executive branch official making the request.
- (b) Disclosure may be made to the following entities:
  - (1) **A Member of Congress or a representative of a committee of Congress.**
  - (2) **An Inspector General.**
  - (3) **The Government Accountability Office.**
  - (4) **A Federal employee responsible for contract oversight or management at the relevant agency.**
  - (5) **An authorized official of the Department of Justice or other law enforcement agency.**
  - (6) **A court or grand jury.**
  - (7) A management official or other employee of the contractor or subcontractor who has the responsibility to investigate, discover, or address misconduct.
- (c) An employee who initiates or provides evidence of contractor or subcontractor misconduct in any judicial or administrative proceeding relating to waste, fraud, or abuse on a Federal contract shall be deemed to have made a disclosure.

## Notes

### Amendments

[88 FR 69520, Oct. 5, 2023]

### Source

Source: 60 FR 37776, July 21, 1995, unless otherwise noted.

### Authority

Authority: 41 U.S.C. 1121(b); 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. chapter 4 and 10 U.S.C. chapter 137 legacy provisions (see 10 U.S.C. 3016); and 51 U.S.C. 20113.

### Source

Source: 48 FR 42108, Sept. 19, 1983, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[88 FR 69520, Oct. 5, 2023]