Patrick Miller-Bartley
Fri, 06/30/2023
On July 1st, a raft of laws passed by the Virginia General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor will become effective, including HB 1895, which prohibits certain confidentiality agreements that might serve to cover up employer misconduct. The law, which is based on a federal law called the Speak Out Act, expands an existing prohibition on confidentiality agreements that bar employees from sharing allegations of sexual assault. In its new form, the law bans agreements that have the “purpose or effect” of “concealing” employee disclosure of details relating to sexual harassment, as well as assault. It defines “sexual harassment” as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of sexual nature when such conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.”
Furthermore, HB 1895 extends this prohibition beyond just specific nondisclosure or confidentiality agreements to more general agreements containing “any provision relating to nondisparagement,” where such a provision has the “purpose or effect” of muzzling employee disclosure of sexual harassment or assault. If an agreement or provision does in fact serve such a purpose, HB 1895 renders it “void and unenforceable.” The law’s prohibition applies equally to both prospective and current employees.
MSE represents employees who have been harassed in the workplace, and has extensive experience helping employees understand and negotiate the terms of agreements with their employers. If you feel your workplace rights have been infringed upon—or even if you just need some help clarifying the scope of those rights—please do not hesitate to contact us.
