Employees accuse OpenAI of illegal NDAs blocking whistleblower rights

Anonymous employees of OpenAI accused the company of requiring employees to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) that “prohibited and discouraged” them from reporting securities law violations to federal regulators.

In a July 1 letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, the employees alleged OpenAI’s NDAs also contained language that forced them to waive their rights to whistleblower incentives and compensation, along with requiring them to notify the company of communications with government regulators. The letter was first reported by The Washington Post.

All such language could violate the Dodd-Frank Act and the SEC’s Whistleblower Rule, which require companies to allow employees to report misconduct to federal regulators without any restrictions.