Legally Unenforceable
As a general rule in the US, you can't enforce any provision of a contract that is unlawful. If I were a hitman for hire and took someone's money and didn't kill the target, it's not like they could take me to court about it and demand I refund their money.
I know a lot of people probably assume these clauses/contracts are legal and enforceable and that's what companies are banking on by getting people to sign them, but they're not. At least insofar as they cannot legally stop you from talking about anything that was against the law taking place at the company. Especially not if you are taking your complaint to the proper enforcement agency for that particular issue. Like in the case of age discrimination, there's no way IBM could go after anyone for violating an NDA if they filed a complaint with the EEOC and told the investigator numerous details that might be considered trade secrets.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
