Washington, D.C., May 27, 2025 — The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has proposed a governmentwide nondisclosure agreement (NDA) for federal employees, a move that could affect more than two million workers. The proposal, which was released on Tuesday to the Federal Register, will be open for public comment for 30 days.
The proposed NDA requires that employees recognize their duty to protect nonpublic, confidential, or proprietary information acquired in the course of their employment. The NDA would also cover internal functions, personnel issues, procurement procedures, and non-public, pre-decisional or deliberative materials that are not available for public inspection.
Federal employee unions, press freedom advocates, and legal experts have already expressed concern over the proposed NDA. Although the draft NDA claims agencies’ use of it is voluntary, it also notes that failing to sign might lead to termination. Employees may feel pressured to sign first and ask questions later.
OPM has defended the proposal by pointing to recent leaks to media outlets, such as the alleged unauthorized disclosure of the personal information of thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel.
Federal employment attorney Justin Schnitzer warns:
“Federal employees should not assume that an NDA is harmless just because it is presented as a standard form. Before signing, employees need to understand the terms of the agreement, what disclosures are still protected, and what repercussions the agency is threatening for noncompliance. Whistleblower rights and reports to an Inspector General cannot simply be waved away by an NDA.”
The legal issue is not whether federal employees may disclose classified, protected, or lawfully restricted information, because those rules already exist. The issue is whether a broadly worded NDA could deter lawful speech or protected whistleblowing.
For federal employees, the practical path forward is to read any NDA carefully and save all related emails and instructions. Do not rely on verbal assurances from supervisors or anyone else regarding the NDA.
Employees who believe the agreement could conflict with whistleblower rights, union activity, congressional communications, or EEO activity should seek legal guidance before deciding whether to sign.