OPM Proposes Federal Workers Sign Governmentwide NDA to Prevent Leaks
The Trump administration wants federal workers to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) to prevent leaks of documents to the media and elsewhere. While federal employees are already subject to various confidentiality, classified information, and disclosure rules, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) says a governmentwide NDA form will promote consistency and better inform “Federal employees of their rights and obligations regarding confidential information.”
The document would bar employees from disclosing information related to internal agency operations, personnel and procurement matters and “any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material” outside of narrow circumstances.
The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register by OPM and is open for comment through June 26, 2026.
OPM Cites DHS, FBI Leaks
OPM wrote that a governmentwide NDA is needed given there have been “several recent instances in which internal agency communications related to rulemaking and policy development were disclosed without authorization” and that such disclosures “risk chilling candid interagency feedback, disrupting orderly decision-making, and weakening trust within and among Federal agencies.”
OPM gave several examples, including the leaking of planned immigration enforcement actions in 2025 by several employees in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-- and the leaking of personal information of approximately 4,500 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees in 2026.
OPM says the proposed NDA does not create new restrictions on employee speech for disclosures but is designed to “provide agencies with a standardized mechanism for employees to acknowledge and agree to comply with obligations that already exist under law and regulation.” It also preserves “rights to make disclosures authorized by law, including protected whistleblower disclosures.”
Agencies would decide whether to require employees to sign the NDA. The requirements would apply to both new hires and existing employees.
Violators could face disciplinary action including termination, as well as existing civil or criminal penalties under applicable law.
Opposition Comments
The proposed rule prompted swift opposition from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) which plans to submit comments in opposition.
“Federal agencies already have extensive policies and procedures in place for preventing the unauthorized release of classified or privileged information. This proposed rule sweeps in an extraordinarily broad category of information, extending restrictions to the very material the public relies on to learn when an administration is causing harm,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley in a statement.
