Most severance agreements these days specify that nothing in the agreement prevents the employee from speaking with regulators about possible violations of the law. This is due to regulators’ concerns that the confidentiality clause that is standard in severance agreements may chill employee whistleblowing.

But what about other employment agreements that have confidentiality clauses?

Employees sign all sorts of agreements with confidentiality restrictions, ranging from offer letters to deferred compensation award agreements. Must these agreements also exempt whistleblowing from their confidentiality obligations?

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