The Trump administration is proposing a rule to require federal workers to sign nondisclosure agreements, according to a draft notice the Office of Personnel Management posted Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOPM believes that a governmentwide NDA form will promote consistency across Government, better protect confidential information, and better inform Federal employees of their rights and obligations regarding confidential information,\u201d says the notice, which was posted to the Federal Register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also says it\u2019s needed to combat \u201cunauthorized disclosures\u201d to the media, citing in part reporting last year about OPM\u2019s controversial efforts to make it easier to fire government employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSuch disclosures risk chilling candid interagency feedback, disrupting orderly decision-making, and weakening trust within and among Federal agencies,\u201d the notice says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Violations of the NDA by current and former employees could result in civil and criminal penalties, the notice says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reuters and The Washington Post were first to report the proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The notice says NDAs would not deter employees from making legally allowed \u201cdisclosures to Congress, an Inspector General, or other designated individuals that are protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The administration has been accused of ignoring those protections previously, including when it placed 15 workers on indefinite leave from the Federal Emergency Management Agency who had warned about the impact mass layoffs were having at the agency. They were later reinstated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark Zaid, the Washington-based attorney who co-founded the advocacy group Whistleblower Aid, said in an email that the language in the proposed NDA \u201cwould not create any new legal obligations for federal employees, nor limit any ability to lawfully whistleblow, which can include providing certain information to the media\u201d \u2014 but he said he thinks that\u2019s the likely goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt would appear this new effort serves only the purpose of trying to induce fear and intimidate the workforce so as to stop unauthorized but lawful disclosures of information that has often resulted in negative publicity for the Administration,\u201d Zaid said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rule will be officially published Wednesday, setting off a 30-day public comment period. The notice says individual \u201cagencies would have discretion whether to use the NDA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShould agencies elect to use the NDA, it would be administered to newly hired employees as part of the onboarding process and to current Federal employees,\u201d the notice says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the union would oppose the move, which he called a continuation of OPM\u2019s \u201cefforts to silence federal employees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOPM claims the form will be \u2018optional\u2019 for agencies to use and merely restates existing law. We know that will not be true. OPM will pressure agencies to make the NDA mandatory and then fire employees who refuse to sign it,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFederal employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they accept federal employment, and the public has a right to know about this administration\u2019s abuses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Donald Trump sometimes used NDAs in his business and even in his first presidential campaign. He has repeatedly vowed to get rid of \u201cleakers\u201d in the federal government, and some members of his Cabinet, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel, have been aggressive in their efforts to track down the sources of leaks in their ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement that in the private sector, \u201cemployees handling sensitive business or customer information are routinely required to sign confidentiality agreements, and the federal government should not be held to a lower standard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAmericans should be able to trust that their personal data and sensitive government information are being handled responsibly. This proposal reinforces accountability across the federal workforce while helping agencies better protect against unauthorized disclosures,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n