Bill comes amid new polling from Lift Our Voices and Morning Consult showing 76% of CT voters support legislation banning NDAs
HARTFORD, CT – Lift Our Voices (LOV), co-founded by Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky, applauds Senator Mae Flexer (D-29) and Representative Matt Blumenthal (D-147) for introducing legislation that would outlaw the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in the workplace related to incidents of abuse, harassment or discrimination. Senate Bill 1035 (S.B. 1035) adopts similar provisions as existing laws in California, New Jersey and Washington State and will be heard in a public hearing happening today.
The bill’s introduction comes as LOV and Morning Consult release new polling that shows the vast majority of Connecticut voters (76%) support legislation banning NDAs for toxic workplace issues. LOV is the leading organization advocating for policies that empower and protect every worker from toxic behavior.
Additional poll findings include:
- 68% of Connecticut voters oppose companies using NDAs to prevent people who experience or observe abuse, harassment or discrimination from sharing that information in or outside the workplace.
- A bipartisan majority of Connecticut voters oppose companies using NDAs, with 72% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans opposed.
- Nearly half (46%) of Connecticut voters said that state leaders should be doing more to protect against discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace.
Full poll results can be viewed here.
“We are grateful to Senator Flexer and Representative Blumenthal for protecting workers,” said Gretchen Carlson, Co-Founder of Lift Our Voices. “With more than three quarters of Connecticut voters supporting legislation that would ban NDAs, it’s past time that the legislature enhanced protections for workers and ensured they can’t be silenced by NDAs.”
LOV was instrumental in helping to pass The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA) and The Speak Out Act, two bipartisan federal landmark laws that eliminated silencing mechanisms for workers who have experienced sexual misconduct on the job. Still, one-third of the U.S. workforce is bound by NDAs, and more than 60 million workers are subject to forced arbitration on issues not related to sexual assault and harassment, meaning that employers can still enforce these silencing mechanisms on all other forms of workplace toxicity. At the same time, two new studies from LOV and Penn State show that nearly half of U.S. workers report being subject to NDAs by their employers and 39% of workers report being subject to a forced arbitration clause.
In Connecticut, employers are still able to cover up workplace toxicity such as discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Last year, LOV played a critical role in calling for the introduction of legislation to ban NDAs in the Connecticut legislature and continues to work hand-in-hand with key state electeds to advance the measure so that workers can speak out without fear.
“Over the last few years, we’ve made exceptional progress towards ending the use of silencing mechanisms in the workplace at both the federal and state levels,” said Julie Roginsky, Co-Founder of Lift Our Voices. “But the reality is that Connecticut needs to join other states across the nation that have ensured that all workers are able to speak out freely. The Connecticut legislature can lead the charge against NDAs by passing S.B. 1035.”
“I’m hopeful this is the year that Connecticut can get NDAs out of the workplace. There’s too much behind-the-scenes silencing going on that is not good for anyone facing discrimination and not good for workplace morale. We need more voices standing up against sexual harassment and workplace discrimination – not fewer,” said Senator Flexer.
The introduction of S.B. 1035 and the Morning Consult poll comes as LOV kicks off its “LOV Where You Work Index” with a survey to companies in the Russell 3000 on their use of NDAs and forced arbitration clauses. The Index, a first-of-its-kind corporate scoring system to be released later this year, will score companies in the Russell 3000 on their use of NDAs and forced arbitration clauses in employment contracts, providing employers a unique opportunity to ensure clarity on their use of transparency policies.
“Toxic workplaces—and the predators who poison them—count on silence,” said Rep. Blumenthal. “Nondisclosure agreements have been a key tool used to stifle survivors of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. Survivors' voices are vital for accountability and change. It's time to take strong measures to ensure these provisions no longer silence survivors in Connecticut.”
