The 2008 Cobalt is one of the GM vehicles affected by the company’s massive ignition-switch recall.
In the wake of the Takata airbag debacle and the GM ignition-switch mess, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has drafted a measure to incentivize auto-industry whistleblowers. The Senators posit that employees who speak up about safety defects should receive up to 30 percent of any federal fines eventually imposed. Whistleblowers would be rewarded for sharing original information on product defects or reporting violations to the U.S. DOT or Department of Justice. If this bill waddles its way through the maze on Capitol Hill, corporate citizens with a sense of responsibility could look forward to some serious paydays.
Presumably due to the significant quantity of egg on the industry’s face in the wake of the two recent product scandals, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers supports the bill, according to Reuters, suggesting that it could motivate employees to report problems internally, rather than sweep them under the floormats.
The bill has yet to be scheduled for a Senate vote, after which it would need to pass muster with the House of Representatives before seeing the President’s desk. It does, however, seem like an easy political win, especially since it has the support of the auto industry. Who votes against safety?
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