SB 820: #MeToo legislation squashes secret settlements

The #MeToo movement has taken the nation by storm and changed several California laws in its wake. Senate Bill 820, known as STAND (Stand Together Against Non-Disclosures) Act lifts the veil of secrecy surrounding settlement agreements that involve workplace sexual harassment. The rampant use of nondisclosure agreements in the corporate and political world was a long-standing practice, which allowed repeat offenders to continue sexually harassing colleagues without accountability. The goal was to protect powerful, high profile individuals from embarrassing publicity surrounding accusations of sexual misconduct.

The ubiquitous secret settlements provided compensation for the victim, as long as she or he kept their mouth shut. We've seen over the past year, countless revelations involving celebrities, network news anchors and titans of industry accused of engaging in sexual misconduct while their past misdeeds were protected by hush money agreements. While the legal industry was well aware of the confidential nature of nondisclosure agreements, the public was shocked when it came to light that these settlements allowed sexual predators to stay in their jobs, essentially emboldening them to continue the harassment of fellow co-workers. The company could wash its hands of the situation and turn a blind eye to future mistreatment.

In my three decades of experience representing victims of sexual harassment and gender discrimination, I've seen how corporations and public entities use nondisclosure agreements as a weapon to silence victims. These cases typically involve a C-Suite executive, a corporate officer or a manager who uses his or her position of power to subject a lower-level employee to sexual degradation, humiliation and advances.

The STAND Act ensures that settlement agreements involving sexual assault, sexual harassment, discrimination or retaliation no longer prohibit the victim from speaking out about the facts of their case. Employers are prohibited from using NDAs to hide claims in an administrative or civil lawsuit for sexual harassment under California Civil Code Section 51.9, as well as employment-related harassment, gender discrimination, or retaliation for reporting incidents of sexual harassment or discrimination. The law will now permit victims to talk about what happened to them, while still keeping the settlement amounts confidential.

It took the rallying cry of victims' advocates and the mobilization of the legal community to override enormous resistance from the business community which opposed the bill for exposing employers to the public presumption of guilt. SB 820, which took effect on Jan. 1, applies to all private and public employers in the state, including the state Legislature.