The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has put forward a draft government-wide nondisclosure agreement that agencies could use for both current and newly hired federal workers, as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to curb leaks of sensitive information.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Tuesday released a proposed notice seeking public comment on a draft nondisclosure agreement (NDA) intended for use across the federal government.
The notice says the template is meant to document employees’ acknowledgment of existing legal duties to protect “non-public, confidential, or proprietary information” obtained through their work, while preserving disclosures authorized by law, including protected whistleblower reports.
In explaining the proposal, OPM cited what it described as recent unauthorized disclosures tied to immigration enforcement planning and operational details related to a U.S. action overseas, including a raid in Venezuela. OPM argued such leaks can endanger law enforcement officers and military personnel.
OPM framed the effort as an attempt to standardize how agencies confirm workers understand confidentiality obligations, rather than to create new limits on lawful disclosures. The proposal is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday and seeks input on issues including what categories of unclassified information the NDA should cover and how agencies should address cases in which employees decline to sign.
