The Trump administration is proposing the creation of a government-wide nondisclosure agreement for new and existing federal employees that agencies could elect to adopt.
The Office of Personnel Management is proposing to create a standard NDA form in response to media leaks regarding immigration enforcement, according to a filing in the Federal Register. The new document would not create “new substantive restrictions” on employee speech or disclosure rights, the agency said.
“Rather, it is designed to provide agencies with a standardized mechanism for employees to acknowledge and agree to comply with obligations that already exist under law and regulation, while expressly preserving rights to make disclosures authorized by law, including protected whistleblower disclosures,” OPM said.
The proposed NDA would be an optional form, meaning federal agencies would have discretion whether to adopt it. OPM is seeking public feedback about the scope of the NDA and what actions agencies should take if employees refuse to sign it.
