Administration Proposes Governmentwide NDAs For Federal Employees
OPM proposed a governmentwide nondisclosure agreement to curb unauthorized disclosures while saying it preserves whistleblower rights and would be optional for agencies.
Overview
The Office of Personnel Management posted a notice in the Federal Register proposing a governmentwide nondisclosure agreement for current and future federal employees.
OPM said the form is intended to document employees' obligations to safeguard non-public information and to combat unauthorized disclosures, citing reporting on a U.S. raid in Venezuela and the release of ICE employee information.
Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the proposed NDA is part of a continuing effort to silence federal employees and the union said it would oppose the move.
The federal workforce includes roughly 2 million people.
The rule will be officially published Wednesday, which will begin a 30-day public comment period and leave it to agencies to decide whether to use the NDA.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the proposal as a potential threat to transparency and whistleblowers by foregrounding punitive consequences, highlighting press‑freedom concerns and examples like the FBI reporter search and the Dobbs leak, while still noting agency defenses—producing a cautious, skeptical narrative that emphasizes civil‑liberty risks over administrative rationale.