Last year produced major changes in the whistleblowing landscape: whistleblower protections for federal contractor employees who disclose waste, fraud, and abuse were made permanent under the National Defense Authorization Act. Congress granted employees a safe haven to disclose their employer's trade secrets through approved channels under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and U.S. government and whistleblowers brought an unprecedented number of False Claims Act cases, which led to the recovery of $4.7 billion in settlements and judgments.