A proposal by the Office of Personnel Management to push federal workers to sign nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, is facing a fierce backlash.

Unions, press freedom organizations and groups that support whistleblowers say it is an attempt by the Trump administration to silence the workforce. OPM says it is intended to stop leaks to the news media.

Max Stier is the president and CEO of the non–profit Partnership for Public Service. He joined WAMU All Things Considered host Tamika Smith to talk about how this plan could impact federal workers – and everyone else. He warned that requiring NDAs could have a chilling effect on an essential part of government accountability.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity

What details should we be really paying attention to here?

I think the most important thing for everyone to understand is that we already have a federal workforce that is deeply scared about speaking up about things that we need them to speak up about. We’ve been polling the federal workforce and almost 80% of the workforce does not believe they can raise a violation of law or ethics without fear of retaliation. So, when you combine that with this proposed new NDA, you really are talking about putting the final nail in the coffin of getting good information about what’s happening in our government to the American people.

And as the plan stands now, would federal workers be required to sign these NDAs?

They claim it’s voluntary, and then out of the...

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