Washington Post (06/29/14) Scott Higham; Kaley Belval

Employers increasingly are requiring workers to sign overly restrictive nondisclosure agreements that sometimes prevent them from talking to government regulators. Even government agencies and contractors are using the agreements, which traditionally have been used to protect trade secrets but now skirt the limits of legality. Fear of retaliation against whistleblowers is on the rise on Wall Street and among federal employees, and pressure is mounting to improve whistleblowing protections. Some businesses are requiring employers to report wrongdoing to their supervisors before talking to regulators.