Guaranteed confidentiality with regard to employee disputes may be becoming a thing of the past if the current tide of legislation continues. As we blogged about several weeks ago, Congress just banned arbitration agreements for sexual harassment claims. Even more stringent than that new federal legislation, Washington and California have both recently passed a “Silenced No More Act,” which restricts confidentiality provisions in certain employment agreements.
The new Washington law bars employers of Washington residents from using non-disclosure and non-disparagement provisions in any agreements to prohibit employees from discussing instances of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wage-and-hour violations. Not only can employers not attempt to enter into agreements with such provisions, but they also cannot enforce such provisions in agreements that have already been executed. Employers may, however, continue requiring confidentiality as to the amount of a settlement (even when related to these categories of claims), and they may also continue using confidentiality provisions to protect proprietary company information. The law contains an anti-retaliation provision and recognizes a civil cause of action for aggrieved employees to collect damages of $10,000 or more, as well as attorneys’ fees, for an employer’s violation of the statute.
California’s version of the Silenced No More Act (SB 331) amends the state Fair Employment and...
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