Law360, New York ( April 17, 2015, 10:26 AM EDT) -- The government has recently stepped up its efforts to preclude contractors from using overly restrictive confidentiality and nondisparagement clauses in employment contracts that might discourage employees from reporting waste, fraud and abuse. For example, a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement action against a government contractor regarding employment agreements that allegedly prevented employees from reporting potential violations to the government garnered widespread media attention and resulted in reviews by other agencies of similar agreements by their contractors. These developments signal an increasing emphasis by the government on ensuring that contractors have policies that will encourage, and not hinder, disclosures by concerned employees where those disclosures are protected under federal whistleblower laws....