Biden Signs Bill to Limit Enforcement of Sexual Harassment NDAs

President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Dec. 1, 2022. Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law a measure to bar enforcement of pre-dispute nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) that prohibit victims from disclosing sexual assault and harassment on the job.

“I just signed the Speak Out Act, a bill that'll enable survivors to speak out about workplace sexual assault and harassment and increase access to justice,” the Democrat president announced on Twitter.

The Speak Out Act reads: “With respect to a sexual assault dispute or sexual harassment dispute, no nondisclosure clause or nondisparagement clause agreed to before the dispute arises shall be judicially enforceable in instances in which conduct is alleged to have violated Federal, Tribal, or State law.”

Such pre-dispute NDAs are often signed by employees or contractors as a condition of employment. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who introduced the bill in July, cited massage parlors and assisted living facilities as examples of places where mandatory NDAs have been used.

The legislation does not apply to NDAs signed after a dispute arises, including those signed as part of settlements in sexual assault or harassment lawsuits.

It also does not cover other workplace misconduct, such as discrimination based on age, gender, race, or religion.

The legislation states that nothing in its text prohibits an employer and an employee from protecting trade secrets or proprietary information.

‘Historic Day’

A bipartisan group of House representatives said it was “a historic day for labor law and women’s rights in America.”

The Speak Out Act had passed the Senate unanimously in September and passed the House on a 315–109 vote.

“Forced NDAs punish the survivor and protect the perpetrator who is set free to abuse others again and again. With the signing of the Speak Out Act, we will now hold abusers accountable and change the culture of the workplace,” reads a statement from Reps. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), and Burgess Owens (R-Utah), who are among the cosponsors of the bill.

“Employers who were used to hiding their dirty little secrets will be forced to stop toxic workplaces, sexual harassment, and assault before it happens. This should lead to safer and more productive workplaces and civic society for employers, employees, and consumers.”

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee called the latest news a “historic victory” that “will promote transparency and accountability and make the workplace safer for everyone.”

The bill’s signing comes after Biden, in early March, signed into law legislation that stopped victims of sexual misconduct in the workplace from having to settle cases through forced arbitration. Instead, they would have the right to sue, join a class action lawsuit, or appeal through the courts.

The Speak Out Act also comes five years after the onset of the #MeToo movement, a social movement that involves people publicly sharing their experiences of sexual assault or harassment in the workplace.

Gillibrand said she is working with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to pass similar laws related to age discrimination in the workplace.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.