Gainey Law, PLLC Seattle Employment Law Attorney

 Though many corporate Defendants still try to slip in illegal Non-Disparagement or Non-Disclosure agreements into Settlement Agreements in Employment Law Cases the law could not be more clear that these clauses are now VOID as AGAINST Public Policy: The intent of the Silence No More Act is straight forward: “ The legislature recognizes that there exists a strong public policy in favor of the disclosure of illegal discrimination, illegal harassment, illegal retaliation, wage and hour violations, and sexual assault, that is recognized as illegal under Washington state, federal, or common law, or that is recognized as against a clear mandate of public policy, that occurs at the workplace, at work-related events coordinated by or through the employer, between employees, or between an employer and an employee, whether on or off the employment premises. Nondisclosure and non-disparagement provisions in agreements between employers and current, former, prospective employees, and independ...

      Washington state  became   the second in the nation to pass the  HB 1795 - 2021-22 also known as the   Silenced No More Act  on Thursday (March 3, 2022). The new bill bars employers in the state from using non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to prevent workers from talking about instances of illegal harassment - including sexual harassment - discrimination, retaliation, sexual assault and wage violations. Despite the fact that the law has been moving in this direction for some time,(they were already banned in cases against the government as agaisnt public policy) defendant corporations and defense attorneys treat NDAs as "standard" and insist on them in every case. Some will argue that this will make cases harder to settle. That the defense only settles to get the NDA. I do not think this is true, I believe these NDAs are an abusive tactic to punish Plaintiff's for coming forward, to keep the company's wrongdoing quiet so ...