Washington state a leader in ending silence of NDAs

By Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky / For The Herald

A year ago this March, Gov. Jay Inslee signed the Silenced No More Act, which gave back survivors of sexual assault and harassment a right so fundamental that it is hard to believe it was ever denied them: their own voice.

That is because prior to this law, nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) muzzled survivors from speaking out openly about workplace abuse. The Silenced No More Act changed that in Washington state and should serve as a model for other states that care about protecting workers from workplace toxicity.

NDAs have long been appropriately to protect trade secrets or other proprietary corporate information. But in recent decades, employers have used them to cover up toxic behavior such as discrimination, harassment, assault or retaliation. Nearly 1 in 3 American workers is bound by an NDA. Too often, these silencing provisions are buried in contracts and discovered only when a survivor wants to come forward, only to be told that they cannot breathe a word about what happened to them. Sometimes, workers must sign NDAs on the first day of work, ensuring that they lose their ability to speak about wrongdoing before it even occurs. Sometimes, they must sign them in exchange for a raise or a promotion. And sometimes, they are used as a condition of settlement or severance or even to obtain a letter of recommendation.

When workers cannot confide in their colleagues, friends or even loved ones about workplace toxicity, it only serves to protect predators at the expense of survivors. Countless people have shared their stories with us about how this inability to say a word in their own defense forced them not just from their jobs but, too often, from their chosen careers. The women, people of color and others whom these silencing mechanisms have driven from the workplace will continue to have an incalculable effect on our nation’s economy.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-washington-state-a-leader-in-ending-silence-of-ndas/