Washington, May 27 : The Trump administration has proposed a government-wide nondisclosure agreement for federal employees. The move critics say could chill speech and discourage whistleblower disclosures.

The proposal was issued Tuesday by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which said the draft agreement is intended to protect â??non-public, confidential, or proprietary informationâ?? across federal agencies.

The proposed NDA could be used for both new and existing federal employees. Agencies would decide whether to adopt it. The agreement would become part of an employeeâ??s official personnel file.

According to the proposal, employees would be required to protect information tied to â??internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, or any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available.â??

The Washington Post first reported that the proposed rule would expand nondisclosure agreements already used inside agencies including the Pentagon.

â??In much of the private sector, employees handling sensitive business or customer information are routinely required to sign confidentiality agreements, and the federal government should not be held to a lower standard,â?? OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement quoted by both The Washington Post and The New York Times.

The administration said recent leaks involving immigration enforcement plans and a secret US raid in Venezuela showed the need for stronger controls.

The OPM filing said disclosures to The New York Times and The Washington Post about the Venezuela operation â??put the lives of members of the armed forces at risk.â??

The New York Times disputed that claim. The Washington Post reported that Times Executive Editor Joe Kahn said the newspaper â??did not have verified details before the raid and did not withhold publication at the request of the Trump administration.â??

Civil liberties groups and lawyers representing federal workers criticised the proposal.

â??The First Amendment applies most strongly to government employeesâ?? speech when the speech in question is in their private capacity and about matters of public concern,â?? Esha Bhandari of the American Civil Liberties Union told The New York Times.

She added: â??Such broad gag orders would leave the public in the dark about how the government works, preventing the kind of informed debate that is critical to democratic accountability.â??

Greg Greubel of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression told The Washington Post that agencies â??cannot use an NDA as a broad gag order to stop employees from speaking about misconduct, workplace concerns, or matters of public concern.â??

The administration said the proposal would preserve whistleblower protections and would not create new legal restrictions on speech. The draft specifically says disclosures protected under federal law, including reports to Congress and inspectors general, would remain protected.

The proposal comes as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to stop leaks inside federal agencies. The Washington Post reported that the Defence Department imposed NDAs and random polygraph testing last year as part of broader anti-leak measures.

/IANS