Biden Signs New Federal Law to Curb NDAs
Making progress towards breaking the silence on employer abuses
Happy to share some very good news on the legislative front. Last week, President Biden signed the “Speak Out Act” into law. While some states have been passing various bills to hinder the ability of employers to silence their workers, this is the first federal bill of its kind, so it’s a Big Deal.
The new law means that employment contracts containing non-disclosure clauses cannot be enforced to stop employees from speaking out about sexual assault or harassment. So if you signed a contract with your employer that contains an NDA when you started working, this applies to you.
Interestingly, the law also applies to any agreements between providers of goods and services and their customers; for example, massage parlors and assisted living facilities, where mandatory NDAs have been used.
However, the law applies only to “pre-dispute” situations, so if a complaint goes into legal settlement, employers can still force silence that way. Another significant limitation is that it does apply to any other wrongdoing such as discrimination.
Gretchen Carlson, formerly of Fox News and one of the bill’s advocates, explained it this way:
The Speak Out act only addresses harassment and assault, and it's only for NDAs that you sign on your first day of work up until you file a legal process. This does not address NDAs for all other disenfranchised groups. Any kind of racial discrimination, age, disability, LGBTQ+, gender. This does not address that at all.
Still, it’s an important step forward in breaking the silence. Kudos to the organization, Lift Our Voices, which Carlson founded along with reporter Julie Roginsky, for its impressive advocacy on this issue.
The White House recognized these efforts at its briefing last week, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying, “Today’s bill was passed thanks in part to the extraordinary leadership of Gretchen Carlson and other survivors and advocates.”
At a time when much of what happens in our nation’s capital seems broken, we should celebrate this important victory. Lift Our Voices lists the following members of Congress as co-sponsors of the Speak Out Act:
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Representatives Lois Frankel (D-FL), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Ken Buck (R-CO), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), David Cicilline (D-RI), Morgan Griffith (R-VA), and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).
We should celebrate these political leaders as well.
Democratic Senator Gillibrand says she is working with Republican Senator Graham to pass similar laws related to age discrimination in the workplace. It’s great to see such bi-partisan efforts, and they should be expanded to include ALL employment abuses, especially racial discrimination, as well as all legal agreements. Until then, the Washington State law remains the strongest in the nation.
Meantime, companies continue to take action in the wake of shifting tides. Apple recently announced it’s bowing to shareholder pressure to stop enforcing NDAs.
And I have an exciting announcement in the coming days regarding a food company making a similar policy change. Stay tuned!