WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Office of Personnel Management posted a draft notice on Tuesday proposing a rule requiring federal workers to sign nondisclosure agreements. The proposed rule will be officially published on Wednesday, initiating a 30-day public comment period.

The draft notice states 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. It says unauthorized disclosures risk chilling candid interagency feedback, disrupting orderly decision-making, and weakening trust within and among federal agencies. The draft notice adds that NDAs would not impact employees’ ability to make legally allowed disclosures to Congress, an Inspector General, or other designated individuals protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act.

OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement that in the private sector, "employees 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." Kupor added, "Americans 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."

The draft notice says individual agencies would have discretion whether to use the NDA. If agencies elect to use it, the agreement would be administered to newly hired employees during onboarding and to current federal employees. Violations of the NDA by current and former employees could result in civil and criminal penalties, according to the draft notice. It also cites reporting last year about OPM’s efforts to make it easier to fire government employees as an example of unauthorized disclosures to the media.

Mark Zaid, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney who co-founded Whistleblower Aid, said the proposed NDA language "would 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." He added, "It 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."

Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the union would oppose the move, calling it a continuation of OPM’s "efforts to silence federal employees." Kelley said, "OPM claims the form will be ‘optional’ 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." He also stated, "Federal employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they accept federal employment, and the public has a right to know about this administration’s abuses." Fifteen workers were placed on indefinite leave from the Federal Emergency Management Agency after warning about the impact of mass layoffs at the agency and were later reinstated.