Usually yes, as a condition of employment — but there are limits. Employers can require reasonable confidentiality agreements to protect real business information. They generally cannot use an NDA to stop you from reporting illegal conduct, discussing wages, or cooperating with a government investigation.
Confidentiality agreements are a normal part of many jobs, and an employer can generally require one to protect trade secrets and sensitive business information. But an NDA is not a gag order. Federal and state laws protect your right to discuss wages and working conditions with coworkers, to report illegal activity to the government, and to cooperate with agencies — and a growing number of laws limit NDAs that try to silence claims of harassment or discrimination. An overly broad NDA that purports to block those protected activities may be unenforceable to that extent.
Generally no. Laws protect employees’ right to discuss wages and working conditions, so an NDA that bans it is often unenforceable on that point.
No. NDAs generally cannot prevent you from reporting illegal activity to the government or cooperating with an investigation.
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