Confidential Government Information Nondisclosure Agreement, Federal Register, May 27, 2026
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Notice with request for comment.
SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) requests comment on a draft nondisclosure agreement (NDA) for use by Federal agencies for both new and existing employees. The form is intended to document Federal employees’ acknowledgment of, and agreement to comply with, current legal obligations to safeguard non-public, confidential, or proprietary information, created or obtained through their official duties, while expressly preserving the right to make disclosures authorized by law. OPM believes 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…

• See also New York Times: “Trump Administration Wants Federal Employees to Sign Nondisclosure Agreements. Lawyers representing federal workers said the move is intended to chill speech and could be challenged on First Amendment grounds. The Trump administration wants to roll out a uniform nondisclosure agreement across the federal government that would bar employees from sharing internal government information, citing the need to stop leaks to media organizations. Each agency could determine whether to adopt the agreement, which would require federal workers not to disclose “nonpublic, confidential or proprietary” information and to notify the agency of any theft or loss of such information, according to a proposal released on Tuesday by the Office of Personnel Management. Agencies could ask both current employees and new hires to sign the agreement. Employees who breach the terms could face potential disciplinary action, as well as civil and criminal penalties, according to a draft agreement, although it did not state which civil and criminal statutes would apply to disclosures not already covered under federal law…”
• See also The Bulwark – Federal Workers Are Increasingly Afraid to Report Illegal Activity and Trump Wants a Gag Order for Every Single Government Worker. You can’t divorce the demands for secrecy from the corruption itself.