Comment from National Active & Retired Federal Employees - NARFE
National Active & Retired Federal Employees - NARFEOpposeIndividual
Summary: Paul Schwartz opposes the proposed Confidential Government Information Nondisclosure Agreement, arguing that government employees should not be required to waive their First Amendment rights. He contends that government operations require transparency for the American people and that NDAs are inappropriate for public service compared to private business.
First of all I do not think a government employee can simply waive his/her First Amendment right. Non-disclosure agreements are ordinarily utilized in business to protect a company's business practices, client lists, etc. In government the federal employees work for the American people, not the owner or head of a private company. The key word, here, is transparency; American citizens are entitled to unfiltered information regarding the operational workings of their government as long as it does not put safety and security at risk. An across the board NDA does not fall into this category. What was used in Trump Enterprises does not equate to the federal government.
Paul Schwartz