Confidential Government Information Nondisclosure Agreement

This Federal Register notice, published by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), proposes a standardized nondisclosure agreement (NDA) for use across the federal government. The draft NDA would apply to both newly hired and existing federal employees at any agency that elects to adopt it, and would be signed during onboarding or administered to current staff. It defines "Confidential Government Information" broadly to include non-public information relating to internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement, and pre-decisional or deliberative materials. OPM frames the proposal as a codification of existing legal obligations rather than a new restriction, and states that the form would expressly preserve employees' rights to make disclosures protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act, including reporting waste, fraud, or abuse to Congress or an Inspector General. However, critics argued that the NDA was inconsistent with whistleblower protection law by, among other things, creating a process for pre-approval before an employee could make a disclosure. Signed forms would be stored in employees' official personnel records. OPM also announced its establishment of a requirement that, from time to time, employees must certify that they had not violated the non-disclosure agreement. A false certification could lead to termination or legal liability. Protect Democracy and other groups submitted a comment on the proposal, which contains a more detailed analysis.