Employers and employees entering into separation or settlement agreements have traditionally agreed to nondisclosure clauses that prohibit disclosure of the agreement or the circumstances leading to its execution. Although these clauses have not previously been subject to much controversy and considered to provide valuable closure for employer and employee, the #MeToo movement has generated much criticism of such clauses when related to allegations of sexual harassment, arguing they have the detrimental effects of silencing victims and enabling repeat offenders. This criticism has led to new trends in the law which discourage such nondisclosure clauses and agreements.
The most significant change so far is in federal tax law, which has created a disincentive to nondisclosure provisions in settlements of sexual harassment or abuse claims. Specifically, Congress’s recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act prohibits employers from deducting as a business expense (under Internal Revenue Code Section 162) “(1) any settlement or payment related to sexual harassment or sexual abuse if such settlement or payment is subject to a nondisclosure agreement, or (2) attorney’s fees related to such a settlement or payment.”
At the state level so far, California, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington have introduced legislation aimed at curtailing the use of nondisclosure provisions that restrict discussions or disclosure of workplace sex harassment. Each state proposal has its own specifics, but in general they render invalid the use or enforcement of non-disclosure provisions related to sexual harassment, either as part of any nondisclosure agreement, or in the context of settlement agreements, or both. As of the date of this article, legislation is still pending in California, New York, and Pennsylvania, and New Jersey’s bill did not pass in the state’s last legislative session. Washington’s bill was enacted into law on March 21, 2018 with an effective date of June 7, 2018 and covers nondisclosure agreements entered into as a condition of employment, but permits confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements. The text of the Washington law can be found here.
Employers should stay up to date concerning applicable laws in connection with nondisclosure agreements. And when nondisclosure agreements exist, employers should remember that they may not interfere with an employee’s right to file a charge with or communicate with U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). Although a settlement agreement can bar an individual from seeking monetary or other individual relief at the EEOC, courts and the EEOC have invalidated agreement terms that interfere with an individual’s nonwaivable right as a matter of public policy to file a charge or otherwise communicate with the EEOC.
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