The Office of Personnel Management has released draft federal worker NDAs that agencies could require of new and current employees to stop confidential information from reaching journalists, Reuters reported.
Under the draft, the government could pursue civil and criminal penalties for violations. Agencies would decide whether to impose the agreements. Press-freedom advocates say the plan threatens public access to newsworthy information.
What the federal worker NDAs would require
Former employees would need written permission from an authorized agency official before speaking to journalists about information labeled confidential. Violators could face civil and criminal penalties.
The draft also says the government would be entitled to royalties employees receive from disclosures that breach the agreement. OPM did not immediately explain that clause.
OPM defense and whistleblower carve-out
OPM Director Scott Kupor said private-sector workers who handle sensitive information routinely sign confidentiality deals and that the federal government should not face a lower standard.
Federal law still bars retaliation for disclosures of fraud, abuse, and misconduct to inspectors general and Congress. The draft says the NDA would not cover those protected whistleblower channels.
Broader control of the federal workforce
Gabe Rottman of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said aggressive limits on employee-journalist contact ultimately threaten the public’s access to news.
The military under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has already required NDAs for some officials tied to Latin America operations. Separately, a State Department email seen by Reuters said a White House app would be installed on executive-branch mobile phones.
Personnel rules and agency secrecy sit at the center of Government coverage. How widely agencies adopt federal worker NDAs will shape what the public learns from inside the bureaucracy.