system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: how are employees forced to sign non disclosure agreements? I always hear that former employees of corrupt companies were forced to sign NDA’s so they can’t speak about their time at their companies. Do they receive large settlements for these or what?
gpt
It's usually a condition of employment. So before an employee starts work on their first day they'll be told "your job will have access to sensitive information. In order to work for us you must sign a Non Disclosure Agreement. If you are not willing to sign the offer of employment will be withdrawn". I've worked in two companies who have required then for legitimate reasons (one was prevention of insider trading, the other worked with the government and had access to classified information - had to be sec screened for that too) but if you're concerned about the dodgy state of it you can question why you need to sign an NDA. 

Also, in the UK at least, there are whistleblowing laws that allow you to work around the NDA if the company is involved in illegal activities, so it is not really as much of an excuse as people make it out to be.