The Silenced No More Act Means That Employers Can No Longer Hide Behind Non-Disclosure Agreements To Conceal Their Mistreatment Of Workers

For every complaint about discrimination that an employer receives, there are usually dozens of other current and former employees who have received similar unfair treatment but have never spoken up about it. The reason that so few mistreated workers speak up about discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination is that employers often do anything they can to intimidate mistreated employees into staying silent about their employers’ illegal and unethical actions. One of the tactics that employers previously used to prevent employers from speaking publicly about discrimination is the non-disclosure agreement (NDA), but a law recently enacted in California has made it more difficult for employers to hide their unsavory behavior behind NDAs. Schedule a case review with the Los Angeles employment discrimination and harassment lawyer at Litigation, P.C. to find out more about exercising your right to a discrimination-free workplace.

Games Employers Play to Keep Employees from Revealing the Truth About Workplace Discrimination

The law prohibits all forms of discrimination against employees and job applicants based on protected characteristics such as race, gender, national origin, religion, age, and disability, and yet employment discrimination remains widespread. This is because employers use their position of power to intimidate into silence employees who have been the targets of discrimination or who have witnessed discrimination against their coworkers. From taking adverse actions in retaliation for discrimination complaints to staining the employee’s reputation within their professional field, employers put up obstacles for employees seeking justice after employment discrimination and workplace harassment. Some employers pressure employees into signing NDAs, either when the employment relationship begins or as it ends, to prevent the employee from speaking publicly about their work environment and any experiences of discrimination and harassment.

What the Silenced No More Act Means for California Employees

In October 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Silenced No More Act into law, increasing protection for workers who complain about employment discrimination. The law states that employers cannot use NDAs to prevent employees from disclosing discrimination that they experienced in the workplace. The authors of the bill that became the Silenced No More Act include Ifeoma Ozoma, a policy expert who confronted the perils of NDAs in workplace discrimination cases firsthand in her dispute with her former employer Pinterest, and State Sen. Connie Leyva, author of the STAND Act of 2019, which asserted the rights of employees to speak out about gender discrimination and sexual harassment even if they had signed NDAs prohibiting them from doing so. Whereas the STAND Act only covered gender discrimination, the Silenced No More Act applies to discrimination based on any protected category.

Speak With a Los Angeles Discrimination and Harassment Lawyer

If you were the target of discrimination or harassment at work, you have the right to seek justice, even if your employer required you to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Contact Litigation, P.C. in Los Angeles to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.

Resource:

marketwatch.com/story/silenced-no-more-act-becomes-law-in-california-crippling-ndas-11633705395