Proposed FAR Rule Targets Restrictive Confidentiality Agreements

On January 22, 2016, the FAR Council proposed a new rule implementing section 743 of the 2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, which prohibits federal dollars from going to companies that require employees to sign restrictive confidentiality agreements that could limit the ability of employees to report suspected fraud and abuse to the government. As described in a post, the proposed rule comes at a time of increased scrutiny from government agencies on the use of confidentiality agreements, and several agencies have issued class deviations in order to implement the requirements of the 2015 act pending the issuance of the final FAR rule.