19th News: ‘They want you to feel alone’: New bill aims to ban NDAs for victims of workplace harassment

Nondisclosure agreements keep harassment allegations from reaching the public and are used by U.S. corporations to purchase victim silence.

House lawmakers on Wednesday introduced the Speak Out Act, a bipartisan bill that aims to stop employers from forcing workers to remain silent about current and future instances of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace — as a requirement for employment. A companion bill will be introduced in the Senate by Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gilibrand and Mazie Hirono, and Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Marsha Blackburn. 

Nondisclosure agreements in the workplace keep harassment victims from talking publicly about their abuse. More than one-third of the U.S. workforce is bound by NDAs, according to a 2018 Harvard Business Review article, and they are rarely highlighted in a torrent of new employment paperwork. This quiet prevalence can lead people to unknowingly sign over their rights to talk about any harm done to them in the workplace or even when they accept terms and conditions after downloading a new app on their phones. One law professor described them as tools used to purchase victims’ silence.