Landsman Co-Sponsors Bill to Protect Federal Whistleblowers From Nondisclosure Agreements

WARREN COUNTY, OH --  U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, has joined Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, in reintroducing legislation aimed at preventing federal agencies from using nondisclosure agreements to discourage government employees from reporting waste, fraud, abuse or corruption.

The legislation, known as the No Disrupting Accountability (NDA) Act, would prohibit federal funds from being used to require government-wide nondisclosure agreements that violate existing whistleblower protections.

The proposal comes in response to a Trump administration initiative announced earlier this year that would allow federal agencies to require employees to sign standardized nondisclosure agreements, including workers who do not handle classified information.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released the proposed agreement in May, explaining that it was intended to protect sensitive government information and reinforce existing confidentiality requirements. The agency maintains that the proposed agreement would preserve employees' legal rights to report wrongdoing, including protections for whistleblowers.

However, Landsman and Krishnamoorthi argue that such agreements could discourage federal employees from speaking out about misconduct, even when their disclosures are legally protected.

“Government employees should never be silenced from exposing waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption – and federal funds should never be used to allow it,” Landsman said. “Our bill will make sure taxpayer dollars protect the public interest.”

In June, the two lawmakers sent a letter to OPM requesting answers about the proposed agreements and raising concerns about their potential impact on federal workers.

Under existing federal law, government employees have protections when reporting certain types of wrongdoing, including violations of law, gross mismanagement, waste of taxpayer funds and abuse of authority.

The proposed legislation seeks to reinforce those protections by restricting the use of taxpayer dollars for nondisclosure requirements that conflict with employees' legal rights.

Krishnamoorthi said the legislation is necessary to ensure federal workers can report misconduct without fear of retaliation.

“Federal employees must be free to expose wrongdoing without fear of retaliation,” he said.

The legislation has received support from four major federal and public employee unions: the American Federation of Government Employees, National Treasury Employees Union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and National Federation of Federal Employees.

NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald said nondisclosure requirements could discourage workers from sharing information with Congress and the public.

“Federal employees have the right to free speech,” Greenwald said, adding that the union supports legislation protecting workers who report government misconduct.

The bill would not eliminate legitimate requirements to safeguard classified or otherwise legally protected information. Instead, its sponsors say it would prevent nondisclosure agreements from overriding established whistleblower protections.

The legislation must advance through Congress before it can become law. Residents interested in reviewing the proposal can read the No Disrupting Accountability Act bill text.

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