The whistleblower accuses OpenAI of placing illegal restrictions on how its employees can communicate with government regulators. letter Obtained by The Washington Post.
Lawyers representing the anonymous whistleblower sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, referencing a separate formal complaint calling on the SEC to investigate OpenAI’s severance, non-disparagement, and confidentiality agreements.
“The agreement prohibited or discouraged both employees and investors from contacting the SEC regarding securities violations, forced employees to waive whistleblower incentive and compensation rights, and required the company to notify them of any contacts with government regulators,” the letter said.
The letter also said the SEC was provided with evidence that “OpenAI’s previous NDAs violated the law by requiring employees to sign unlawfully restrictive agreements in order to obtain employment, severance, or other financial benefits.”
OpenAI did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. A company spokesperson said He told the Post OpenAI’s whistleblower policy “protects employees’ rights to make protected disclosures.”
A spokesperson for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) confirmed to TechCrunch that The Post had obtained a copy of the letter from Grassley’s office (copies of which have been sent to Congress).
“Monitoring and mitigating threats posed by AI is part of Congress’ constitutional responsibility to protect our national security, and whistleblowers are essential to that mission,” Grassley said in a statement. “OpenAI’s policies and practices appear to have a chilling effect on whistleblowers’ right to speak out and to receive fair compensation for protected disclosures.”
He added that the federal government “needs to change OpenAI’s non-disclosure agreements if it wants to stay ahead of artificial intelligence.”
OpenAI’s employee severance agreement was already in place earlier this year. It has been reported that former employees have been deprived of their vested interests. If you refuse to sign the document or violate the NDA, CEO Sam Altman will then “really sorry,” However, the company maintained that it “has not taken anything back” and that it was “already in the process of amending standard severance procedures.”
