Think Before You Speak & Post: New Risks for Employees with Confidentiality & Non-Disparagement Provisions in Severance Agreements

On March 17, 2025   /   Employment Law, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Non-Disparagement Agreement   /   Leave a comment
Think Before You Speak & Post: New Risks for Employees with Confidentiality & Non-Disparagement Provisions in Severance Agreements

In a significant shift in labor and employment policy, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has rescinded guidance related to its McLaren Macomb decision, a move that could have far-reaching consequences for employees negotiating severance agreements.  The rollback, initiated under Trump’s new leadership at the NLRB, weakens previous protections against overly broad confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses – provisions that have long been used by employers to restrict what departing employees can say about their former

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Virginia Governor Signs Two New Employee Protection Bills into Law

On April 24, 2023   /   Employment Law, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Non-Disparagement Agreement, Virginia Employment Law   /   Leave a comment
Virginia Governor Signs Two New Employee Protection Bills into Law

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed two new bills into law that provide greater privacy protections for employees, while ending the use of nondisclosure, confidentiality and non-disparagement agreements for employees who have experienced sexual harassment. The governor signed Senate Bill 1040, which prohibits employers from using an employee’s social security number (SSN), or any derivative of it, as a means of identification. Employers are also prohibited from including an employee’s SSN on any identification card

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New NLRB Guidance for Severance Agreement Non-Disparagement Provisions

On March 26, 2023   /   Employment Law, NLRB, Non-Disparagement Agreement   /   Leave a comment
New NLRB Guidance for Severance Agreement Non-Disparagement Provisions

New guidance from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is helping employees to understand the limits of non-disparagement clauses in severance agreements. According to a memo to NLRB field offices, lawful severance agreements are still permitted, as long as they do not contain overly broad provisions that affect employee rights to engage with one another to improve their working conditions.  As noted in the recent McLaren Macomb decision, the Board reaffirmed longstanding precedent that employers violate the

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NLRB Rules Non-Disparagement Terms of Severance Agreement Unenforceable

On February 23, 2023   /   Employment Law, Non-Disparagement Agreement, Severance Agreement   /   Leave a comment
NLRB Rules Non-Disparagement Terms of Severance Agreement Unenforceable

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that severance agreements cannot prevent terminated employees from making disparaging statements about their former employer or disclosing the agreement’s terms.  In its ruling, the board overturned two decisions made during the Trump administration. The NLRB found that the previous decisions had departed from precedent and violated workers’ rights of the National Labor Relations Act’s Section 7, which allows workers to communicate when self-organizing.  The board stated that offering

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