During Virginia’s 2023 legislative session, a number of changes impacting employment law were passed and signed into law by Governor Glenn Younkin. Those laws will become effective July 1. The following briefly describes some of the bills that most immediately impact employers.
House Bill 1895: Confidentiality, Nondisclosure, and Nondisparagement Agreements
Extending a 2019 law that prohibited employers from conditioning employment on the employee’s agreement to a confidentiality or nondisclosure agreement that would restrict disclosure of sexual assault, House Bill 1895 also will prohibit terms in such agreements that would restrict claims of sexual harassment. This echoes the federal Speak Out Act of 2022, which barred enforcement of pre-dispute agreements that restrict disclosure of sexual assault or sexual harassment allegations. While the law has been touted as mirroring the Speak Out Act, the language of House Bill 1895 may result in a more expansive application. The Speak Out Act does not apply to settlement agreements regarding already-asserted claims. The Virginia bill, however, may be interpreted to apply to settlement agreements. It reads in relevant part as follows:
No employer shall require an employee or a prospective employee to execute or renew any provision in a nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement, including any provision relating to nondisparagement, that has the purpose or effect of concealing the details relating to a claim of sexual assault...
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