Attorney General Bonta Slams Trump Administration’s Proposed Non-Disclosure Agreement for Federal Employees

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta co-led a coalition of 15 attorneys general in opposing the United States Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) proposed government-wide Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that would silence federal civil servants. The proposed NDA would have a chilling effect on federal employees by broadly defining what constitutes protected non-public information; threatening to remove, debar, or criminally penalize civil servants for non-compliance with the NDA; threatening to remove or debar employees from federal service for not signing the NDA. In the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition highlight how the federal government’s NDA proposal goes well beyond what is necessary to protect sensitive information and urges the federal government to reconsider its proposal.

“Let’s be clear: this proposal appears less about protecting sensitive information and more about silencing federal employees who help ensure government accountability," said Attorney General Bonta. "Civil servants should be able to exercise their First Amendment right to speak up about matters of public concern. The federal government already has tools to protect sensitive information. It does not need a broadly-worded NDA and penalties that place barriers between the American people and the transparency they deserve." 

The proposed NDA for federal employees undermines their First Amendment right by creating a climate of fear and uncertainty around what they can say about the work of the federal government. The broad and ambiguous language, as well as the extreme penalties laid out in the OPM's NDA proposal could discourage employees from speaking out about policies affecting the public. This may result in workers choosing to stay silent over the risk of discipline, even when their speech is protected and serves the public interest.

In the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition assert that:

• The adoption of the type of sweeping, vague, and punitive NDA that OPM proposes would infringe upon federal employees’ First Amendment right to speak as a citizen on matters of public concern.
• The NDA proposal would disrupt the flow of communications between federal agencies and state agencies that is fundamental to the functioning of state-operated programs and the provision of public services to our residents.
• States have been able to deter and address unlawful disclosures without using broadly-worded, governmentwide NDAs.

In filing this letter, Attorney General Bonta co-leads the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.