The Trump administration is at it again. This time, the Office of Personnel Management has proposed a rule that would require current employees and job applicants to sign non-disclosure agreements as a condition of employment.
The rule was published May 27 in the Federal Register with a 30-day public comment period. AFGE will be submitting comments on the proposed rule, urging OPM to withdraw it.
“OPM continues its efforts to silence federal employees. This proposed NDA is another attempt by the administration to purge the civil service of nonpartisan career employees and replace them with loyalists who won’t speak out against waste, fraud, and abuse. Federal employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they accept federal employment, and the public has a right to know about this administration’s abuses,” AFGE President Everett Kelley said in a press statement.
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.
“OPM claims the form will be ‘optional’ for agencies to use and merely restates existing law. We know that will not be true. OPM will pressure agencies to make the NDA mandatory and then fire employees who refuse to sign it.”
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The Trump administration is at it again. This time, the Office of Personnel Management has proposed a rule that would require current employees and job applicants to sign non-disclosure agreements as a condition of employment.
Read More
