Should federal workers be bound by NDAs?
Marketplace Morning Report
Marketplace
4.5 • 927 Ratings
🗓️ 27 May 2026
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Office of Personnel Management is proposing a strict new non-disclosure agreement for federal workers, which would bar them from disclosing “non-public, confidential, or proprietary information.” The Trump administration says a new agreement is needed to stop leaks to the press. A draft of the NDA is being published today. Then, from the latest season of Marketplace's "How We Survive," can we engineer nature to slow the climate crisis?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Should federal workers be bound by non-disclosure agreements? |
| 0:06.0 | From Marketplace, I'm Novosafo. Good morning. First, there's news this morning from Iranian state TV of a U.S. proposal to withdraw military forces and end the conflict. Iran will be required to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping within a month of a deal being signed. |
| 0:25.9 | There is no agreement yet and no confirmation from the U.S., but oil prices are down a bit. |
| 0:27.0 | Details in a moment. |
| 0:31.8 | Meanwhile, the Trump administration wants federal workers to sign new non-disclosure agreements. |
| 0:37.8 | The White House Office of Personnel Management has published a draft notice seeking public comment on the idea. |
| 0:41.1 | The administration says NDAs are needed to stop leaks. |
| 0:43.5 | Marketplaces Nancy Marshall-Genzor has more. The Office of Personnel Management says the non-disclosure agreement it's proposing could be used across the federal government. |
| 0:51.0 | It says federal workers can't disclose non-public, confidential, or proprietary information. |
| 0:56.9 | OPM says it's responding to a series of leaks. It says federal employees gave the New York Times |
| 1:02.4 | and the Washington Post advanced notice of the U.S. raid on Venezuela, although the Times says it |
| 1:08.0 | didn't have verified details beforehand. OPM says federal agencies |
| 1:12.3 | wouldn't be required to use the new NDA and the agreement wouldn't restrict workers' rights under the |
| 1:18.5 | Whistleblower Protection Act. But the main union for federal employees, the American |
| 1:22.9 | Federation of Government employees, says the federal government is trying to silence its workers, and |
| 1:28.3 | OPM will pressure federal agencies to use the new NDA and fire workers who refuse to sign it. |
| 1:35.2 | There will be a 30-day public comment period on the proposed new agreement. |
| 1:39.1 | OPM is requesting input on things like what information the NDA should cover and the appropriate actions, |
| 1:45.5 | if any, if existing employees choose not to sign. |
| 1:49.3 | I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace. |
| 2:15.2 | Music This Marketplace podcast is supported by Intuit QuickBooks. |
| 2:19.6 | If you're trying to grow your business, Intuit QuickBooks workforce can help you lead your business with confidence, clarity, and in a way that makes sense for you. |
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