Rob Walker, the New York Times’s “workologist” columnist, answered a gnarly question in last week’s Times. Here’s the question:
I work for a midsize nonprofit agency with more than 200 employees. For the first time in its history, the agency is requiring all employees to sign a confidentiality/nondisclosure agreement.
I have several concerns about the agreement. It is very broad and binds employees after they have left. And one provision requires employees to notify the agency in writing if we have any contact with governmental entities, even if this occurred as part of an investigation against the agency. Can the agency mandate that employees sign such an agreement? RIVERHEAD, N.Y.
Stepping through legal issues by getting advice from a labor and employment lawyer, Walker and his expert answered the questions thoroughly and clearly: Making a Promise to Stay Silent – NYTimes.com.