Forbes: Congress Passes Law Restoring Survivors’ Voices, Banning NDAs In Sexual Harassment Cases

The U.S. House voted today to pass the Speak Out Act to restore the voices of survivors of sexual harassment and assault. The law will allow employees to talk about their experiences with harassment or assault at work by invalidating nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) that force workers to remain silent in these cases.

The Speak Out Act unanimously passed the Senate in September and will now head to Biden’s desk for signature. The President has already signaled his support earlier this week. This bill will be the second #MeToo-related legislation to become law this year, as legislation prohibiting forced arbitration in these cases took effect in March.

NDAs are often included as part of the mandatory human resources forms that new hires must sign, and they bind over one-third of the U.S. workforce. Organizations use NDAs for a wide range of purposes, from protecting proprietary information to silencing survivors of workplace abuse. The Speak Out Act makes these agreements unenforceable in sexual harassment and assault cases. (This law applies only to NDAs signed before the harassment occurred).