Obligations and prohibited acts

Under 1985.102(a), no covered person or service provider may terminate, retaliate against, or cause retaliation against a covered employee or an authorized representative. This prohibition specifically includes actions such as intimidating, threatening, restraining, coercing, blacklisting, or disciplining an employee or representative for engaging in protected activities. See the full prohibition in 1985.102(a).

Yes—under 1985.102(b)(1), an employee is protected if they provided, caused to be provided, or were about to provide information to the employer about a violation or a reasonable belief of a violation. Protection covers information given to the employer, the Bureau, or other government authorities about violations of Title X or other laws within the Bureau's jurisdiction. See 1985.102(b)(1).

Yes—under 1985.102(b)(1), employees are protected for providing or planning to provide information to the Bureau or any other State, local, or Federal government authority or law enforcement agency about violations or suspected violations. This section covers disclosures to outside authorities as well as to the employer. See 1985.102(b)(1).

Yes—under 1985.102(b)(2), employees are protected if they testified or will testify in any proceeding resulting from enforcement or administration of Title X or other laws within the Bureau's jurisdiction. That protection covers both current and future testimony. See 1985.102(b)(2).

Yes—under 1985.102(b)(3), employees are protected when they filed, instituted, or caused to be filed or instituted any proceeding under any Federal consumer financial law. Initiating or assisting in a proceeding is covered activity. See 1985.102(b)(3).

Yes—under 1985.102(b)(4), employees are protected if they objected to or refused to participate in any activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that they reasonably believed violated a law, rule, order, standard, or prohibition enforceable by the Bureau. The protection requires that the belief be reasonable. See 1985.102(b)(4).

Yes—under 1985.102(a), protection covers actions the employee took either at the employee's initiative or in the ordinary course of the employee's duties, as well as actions by any person acting pursuant to the employee's request. So requests made by an employee that lead someone else to act are covered. See 1985.102(a).

Yes—under 1985.102(a), authorized representatives of covered employees are explicitly protected from termination or other retaliation for engaging in the listed protected activities. That means representatives who act on an employee’s behalf are covered by the anti-retaliation provisions. See 1985.102(a).

Section 1985.102(a) lists examples of retaliatory conduct and states these are prohibited; examples include terminating, intimidating, threatening, restraining, coercing, blacklisting, or disciplining a covered employee or authorized representative. The list is not exclusive—other retaliatory actions are also prohibited. See 1985.102(a).

No—under 1985.102(b)(1), the protection applies when the employee provides information about a violation or information the employee reasonably believes to be a violation. The standard uses a "reasonable belief" test, so the employee does not have to be factually correct as long as the belief was reasonable. See 1985.102(b)(1).

Yes—under 1985.102(b)(1), the protection covers employees who provided information, caused information to be provided, or are about to provide or cause to be provided information about a violation. That means preparations or imminent disclosures are covered. See 1985.102(b)(1).

Yes—under 1985.102(b)(4), an employee who objects to a company activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that they reasonably believe violates a law or Bureau-enforceable rule is protected from retaliation. Internal objections fall within this protection so long as the belief is reasonable. See 1985.102(b)(4).

Yes—under 1985.102(b)(1) and (b)(2), employees are protected for providing information to government authorities or for testifying in proceedings resulting from enforcement, whether they were the original reporter or otherwise cooperated. Participation in government investigations and related proceedings is covered. See 1985.102(b)(1) and 1985.102(b)(2).

Yes—under 1985.102(a), liability extends to any covered person or service provider who causes retaliation. That means arranging, directing, or otherwise causing another person to take retaliatory action can violate the rule even if the employer did not carry out the action personally. See 1985.102(a).

Yes—under 1985.102(b)(2), employees are protected for testifying or for the act of "will testify" in any proceeding resulting from the Bureau's administration or enforcement. This protects employees who are scheduled or expected to testify as well as those who have already testified. See 1985.102(b)(2).

Yes—under 1985.102(b)(1), providing information to the employer is expressly listed alongside providing information to the Bureau or other government authorities, so internal reports are afforded the same protection as external reports when they relate to violations or reasonable beliefs of violations. See 1985.102(b)(1).

Yes—under 1985.102(a), the protection applies whether the employee acted at their initiative or in the ordinary course of their duties. So reporting violations as part of regular job responsibilities is protected activity. See 1985.102(a).

No—1985.102(b)(4) does not set a required procedure in the text provided; it protects employees who object to or refuse to participate in activities they reasonably believe are unlawful. However, employers and employees should follow any applicable internal reporting or refusal-to-work procedures while documenting the reasonable basis for the employee’s belief. See 1985.102(b)(4).

Yes—an employee can be protected under more than one clause of 1985.102 simultaneously. For example, reporting a suspected violation to authorities under 1985.102(b)(1) and later testifying in a proceeding under 1985.102(b)(2) are both protected activities.