H.R. 10198: Federal Worker Protection Act

This bill would place new limits on how federal agencies can use nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, with federal employees and contractors who may have access to sensitive government information.

Basic purpose

The bill is aimed at making sure NDAs cannot be used to stop or discourage people from reporting wrongdoing. It says that existing whistleblower laws still control, and that no agency policy, NDA, executive order, or similar executive-branch document can override those rights.

What agencies would have to do

• Use plain-language language in NDAs telling workers they still have protected disclosure rights.
• Clearly state that workers may still report information to bodies such as the Office of Special Counsel, inspectors general, GAO, Congress, the Merit Systems Protection Board, federal courts, and other legally authorized channels.
• Put that notice before the signature line and make it prominent.
• Provide the notice in the language of the NDA, and in another language if the agency commonly uses that language with the worker.

Review and approval before NDAs can be used

Before an agency can use or distribute a covered NDA template, it would have to send the template to the Office of Special Counsel for review and certification. OSC would have 60 days to act.

• If OSC certifies the template, the agency may use it.
• If OSC objects, it must explain what is wrong with the template.
• If OSC does nothing within 60 days, the template is temporarily approved, but OSC could later revoke that approval.
• NDAs used without the required approval would be void and unenforceable.

Oversight by inspectors general

Each agency’s inspector general would also have to review proposed NDA templates and certify whether they comply with whistleblower laws and this bill. If the IG finds problems, the agency could not use the NDA until the issues are fixed. The bill also requires agencies’ inspectors general to report annually to Congress on their NDA practices.

Rights if retaliation is attempted

If an agency threatens or takes action against a worker for allegedly violating an NDA in a way that involves protected whistleblowing, the worker could sue in federal court. The bill allows courts to order the agency to stop enforcement, declare the NDA provision invalid, award lost pay and other damages, and in some cases award punitive damages against an individual official.

Workers would not have to finish internal administrative steps before filing suit, and the case would generally have to be brought within three years.

Stronger rule against NDA restrictions

The bill says that if an NDA conflicts with whistleblower protection laws, the laws control and the NDA provision is legally void. It also allows workers to use protected disclosure as a defense if the government tries to enforce an NDA against them.

Inspector general protections

After an inspector general issues a negative certification about an NDA, the President would be limited in how that inspector general can be removed or reassigned for two years, unless Congress is notified in advance and the stated reasons are unrelated to the certification. The bill also gives improperly removed inspectors general a path to sue for reinstatement and damages.

Existing NDAs

The bill would take effect when enacted, but agencies would have 180 days to update existing NDA templates and notify workers already covered by them about their rights. During that transition period, older NDAs would be read as if they included the bill’s required plain-language notice and its rule that whistleblower laws override conflicting NDA terms.

Relevant Companies

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