U.S. Office of Personnel Management Releases Draft Proposal for Standard Nondisclosure Agreements Covering Unclassified Information

U.S. Office of Personnel Management published a draft proposal on May 27, 2026, that would allow federal agencies to require employees to sign nondisclosure agreements covering non-public, confidential, or proprietary information.

It states that the agreements would serve as certification that employees understand existing nondisclosure requirements tied to federal service. The proposal frames the NDAs as a response to recent unauthorized disclosures.

U.S. Raid targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, as well as the leak of the Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The draft acknowledges that the administration cannot exceed restrictions already set by law.

It states that the proposed NDA does not create new substantive limits on employee speech or disclosure rights. Federal employees who handle classified information already sign the SF-312 nondisclosure form. The new proposal would extend similar requirements to unclassified material.

Nick Bednar, a law professor at the University of Minnesota who studies the civil service, said the goal of the NDA is to chill employees who would otherwise whistleblow on unlawful activity or mismanagement. Bradley P. Moss, an attorney specializing in national-security and federal employment law, stated that the provision cited by OPM has no obvious relevance to restricting dissemination of unclassified information.

He described the draft NDA as ridiculous on its face and said its post-employment restrictions are unequivocally unlawful. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth began requiring officials to sign NDAs before accessing certain nonclassified information in 2025. The proposal states that workers who refuse to sign could be fired and barred from future government employment.