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Whistleblower complaints about CFPB

This page provides information for current or former CFPB employees or job applicants who may have information they believe shows potential wrongdoing by CFPB.

If you’re a current or former employee of a company that you think has violated federal consumer financial laws, or if you’re an industry insider who knows about such a company, submit a tip to our Office of Enforcement.

What is whistleblowing?

A “whistleblower” provides information he or she reasonably believes evidences:

  • A violation of any law, rule or regulation
  • Gross mismanagement
  • A gross waste of funds
  • An abuse of authority
  • A substantial and specific danger to public health
  • A substantial and specific danger to public safety

What whistleblower protections are available to federal employees?

The Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) protects federal employees or applicants against retaliation for making whistleblower disclosures. It prohibits federal agencies from taking or threatening a personnel action because an employee or applicant made a whistleblower disclosure. The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA) updated the WPA, including clarifying that disclosures do not lose protected status simply because:

  • The employee’s duties include making such disclosures
  • The employee was off duty when the disclosure was made
  • The disclosure was made to a person involved in the alleged wrongdoing
  • The disclosure involved previously revealed information
  • The disclosure was not made in writing
  • The employee may have had a motive for making the disclosure
  • Time has passed between the alleged wrongdoing and the disclosure

Nondisclosure agreements

Under the WPEA, agencies must also include the following specific language in nondisclosure agreements:

These provisions are consistent with and do not supersede, conflict with, or otherwise alter the employee obligations, rights, or liabilities created by existing statute or Executive Order relating to:

  1. Classified information
  2. Communications to Congress
  3. The reporting to an Inspector General of a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or
  4. Any other whistleblower protection.

The definitions, requirements, obligations, rights, sanctions, and liabilities created by controlling Executive Orders and statutory provisions are incorporated into this agreement and are controlling.

The executive orders and statutory provisions referenced in this language are listed below. If the orders or provisions listed here conflict with a term of a nondisclosure agreement, the orders or provisions—not the non-disclosure agreement term—will apply.

  • Executive Order No. 13526;
  • Section 7211 of Title 5, United States Code (governing disclosures to Congress);
  • Section 1034 of Title 10, United States Code, as amended by the Military Whistleblower Protection Act (governing disclosure to Congress by members of the military);
  • Section 2302(b)(8) of Title 5, United States Code, as amended by the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 (governing disclosures of illegality, waste, fraud, abuse or public health or safety threats);
  • Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 (50 U.S.C. 421 et seq.) (governing disclosures that could expose confidential government agents);
  • The statutes which protect against disclosure that may compromise the national security, including sections 641, 793, 794, 798, and 952 of title 18, United States Code; and
  • Section 4(b) of the Subversive Activities Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 783(b)).

How do I make a disclosure or report retaliation?

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) handles claims of wrongdoing within the executive branch of the federal government from current federal employees, former employees, and applicants for federal employment. OSC provides a secure channel through which current and former federal employees and applicants may make confidential disclosures. OSC evaluates the disclosures to determine whether it is substantially likely that a violation of any law, rule or regulation, gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, a substantial and specific danger to public health, or a substantial and specific danger to public safety has been disclosed. If such a determination is made, OSC can require the head of the agency to investigate the matter. OSC also investigates and prosecutes allegations of prohibited personnel practices, including whistleblower retaliation.

For more information—or to make a disclosure or report suspected retaliation—visit the OSC website or contact OSC directly. You can contact OSC by phone at (202) 804-7000 or 1 (800) 872-9855 or by mail to

Office of Special Counsel
1730 M Street NW, Suite 218
Washington, D.C. 20036-4505

You can also report suspected wrongdoing to the Office of the Inspector General for the CFPB, whose website includes more information and a whistleblower hotline . Reports can be made online , by phone at (202) 452-6400 or (800) 827-3340, or by mail to

OIG Hotline, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
Mail Stop K-300
Washington, D.C. 20551