The IRS estimates that approximately 500 to 1,000 IRS employees and 6,000 contractors, sign an NDA each year. Image: Lightspring/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffOf 22 non-disclosure agreements that the IRS uses in its workplace, 17 do not comply with anti-gag order requirements and the other five comply only partially, an inspector general report says.
The report is the latest in a series from agency IGs on whether such agreements comply with the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, which requires notifying employees that despite those agreements, their rights to report wrongdoing to Congress, the Inspectors General, or the Office of Special Counsel supersedes an NDA.
“The IRS estimates that approximately 500 to 1,000 IRS employees and 6,000 contractors, sign an NDA each year. Without anti-gag provisions in the NDAs, employees, and contractors might be reluctant or discouraged to report on fraud, waste, and abuse activities, which would cause reputational harm for the agency,” the report said.
The law further “states that the NDA policy, form, or agreement must include the anti-gag provision before the policy, form, or agreement can be enforced. Because NDAs in use by the IRS at the time of our review did not contain anti-gag provisions, they may not be enforceable,” it said.
Other issues included a lack of a specific policy requiring the anti-gag provision be included in any NDA; the NDA and whistleblower guidance was not easily accessible for employees to find on the IRS intranet site; and training for new hires and annual briefings for all employees did not reference the anti-gag provision.
It said that the IRS is taking steps in response to those findings.
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