nondisclosure agreement
In an employment practices context, a nondisclosure agreement is a legal agreement between an employer and an employee that prohibits an employee from publicizing confidential and valuable information pertaining to the employer.
Additional Information
In many cases in which such agreements are utilized, initial or continued employment is contingent on an employee's signing of the nondisclosure agreement. Effective periods of nondisclosure agreements commonly extend not only for the length of employment but also for a period of time after employment is terminated or otherwise ends. In some cases, nondisclosure agreements can be worded broadly enough so as to prevent disclosure of any kind of personnel decisions or personal conduct witnessed by an employee. Broad nondisclosure agreements of this sort, which could be interpreted as an enabling force for certain harassment or other inappropriate conduct-related exposures, may face additional scrutiny in the courts.
