NDAs Don't Just Silence Workers, They Extend Trauma

I am quoted in an important new article

I recently spoke with Ariella Steinhorn for her important deep dive into how Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) are used not just as legal tools, but as instruments of control and coercion. You should check it out and not just because I am quoted.

I know what she is talking about because I’ve lived it, as I wrote about before. And I’ve spent years helping clients unravel the emotional and legal fallout of being silenced after workplace abuse.

In the article, I make a simple argument:
"Ban all NDAs for anything other than legitimate trade secrets, which is how they started. This can absolutely be done, and this is the trend already.”

But we’re not there yet. Not even close. Instead, workers are forced into silence after being harmed. These agreements are often signed under pressure, when a person is vulnerable, scared, and financially desperate. Employers count on that. And the long-term fallout is severe:

🔹 NDAs trap people in secrecy that continues long after the job ends.
🔹 They extend trauma and make healing harder.
🔹 They leave people questioning what they can say, even in therapy.
🔹 They allow abusers to walk away unscathed—and do it again.

➡️ They keep the power where it never belonged, in the hands of the employer.

It’s easy to think NDAs are just part of “how things work.”

But let’s be honest: What kind of culture protects companies more than people? What kind of system asks you to give up your voice forever just to get a few weeks of severance?

If you've been pressured to sign an NDA, or already have and are still carrying the weight of it, you are not alone. There is no shame in surviving a system that was never built for your protection.

And if you’re an employer or attorney still defending these agreements as “standard practice,” ask yourself: Who benefits? Who suffers? And who is kept silent?

Your experience matters. If you’ve been silenced by an NDA and want to talk, my inbox is open.

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