Washington’s Silenced No More Act goes into effect June 9, 2022, and employers with Washington employees and contractors need to be ready to comply immediately. Washington previously banned Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) prohibiting employees from disclosing sexual harassment or sexual assault occuring in the workplace. The new law goes much further, continuing a national trend to limit employers’ use of NDAs.
The Act’s breadth is notable. At its core, the law bans NDAs that prohibit employees or contractors from disclosing any unlawful conduct that occurred at work or a work-related event. Specifically, employers can’t prohibit discussion or disclosure of conduct (or the existence of a settlement involving conduct) that the worker “reasonably believed under Washington state, federal, or common law to be illegal discrimination, illegal harassment, illegal retaliation, a wage and hour violation, or sexual assault, or that is recoganized as against a clear mandate of public policy.” The law applies to any conduct 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.”
To Whom Does The New Act Apply?
The Silenced No More Act applies broadly to any agreement with a current, former, or prospective employee, as well as independent contractors.
The law will likely require an update to a wide range of employment contracts, including:
- broad employment agreements
- arbitration agreements
- NDA/confidentiality agreements
- non-disparagement agreements
- proprietary information and invention assignment agreements
- severance agreements
- settlement agreements.
Note that the law still permits an NDA that prohibits the disclosure of the amount paid to settle a claim.
Importantly, the Act is retroactive, meaning that it invalidates NDAs or non-disparagement agreements executed both prior to and after the law’s effective date. This poses significant compliance issues for companies. Not only should companies revise their forms of employment agreements with new Washington hires, but companies may need to execute new NDAs with current employees and contractors if the NDAs they have been using don’t comply with the new law.
Steep Penalties for Non-Compliance
Failing to comply with the Act can be costly. Starting June 9, 2022, an employer risks minimum damages of $10,000 plus attorneys’ fees and costs if it (1) requests or requires an employee or contractor to enter into an unlawful NDA or (2) attempts to enforce an existing NDA executed prior to June 9, 2022.
Finally, the law makes clear that employers can’t avoid the new law by including a choice of law provision in the NDA providing that another state’s law will apply. The Act is clear: “A nondisclosure or nondisparagement provision in any agreement signed by an employee who is a Washington resident is governed by Washington law.”
SixFifty Solutions
Companies that employ Washington employees or contractors need to carefully review their form employment agreements to ensure compliance with the new law. We’ve got you covered! SixFifty has updated its Employment Agreements toolset to comply with this latest change to Washington employment law.
If you are ready to get started or have any questions, schedule a demo with SixFifty today!

Written by Adam Wright
Adam Wright is a Vice President of Legal Product at SixFifty. Adam brings a wide range of practical legal experience to his work at SixFifty, and loves that his daily work is geared toward making the law more accessible and affordable for people and businesses. Education and Experience Adam graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Spanish,...
Full Bio and other articles by Adam Wright
About The Author: Adam Wright
Adam Wright is a Vice President of Legal Product at SixFifty. Adam brings a wide range of practical legal experience to his work at SixFifty, and loves that his daily work is geared toward making the law more accessible and affordable for people and businesses.
Education and Experience
Adam graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Spanish, with no plans to ever attend law school. After graduating, he immediately put his Spanish degree to good use, working with a community development non-profit in Ecuador. Adam then served as an Americorps volunteer at a community center and shelter for recently-arrived immigrants in Austin, Texas. It wasn’t until Adam spent an entire year teaching English to sixth graders that he decided law school might be the right choice.
Adam attended the University of Michigan Law School as a Clarence Darrow Scholar. While in law school, he served on the editorial board of the Michigan Journal of Race and Law, spent a semester in North Carolina working for the Farmworker Unit of Legal Aid of North Carolina, and served as a summer intern in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
After graduating magna cum laude, Adam served as a federal judicial law clerk in the Eastern and Middle Districts of North Carolina. Before joining SixFifty, Adam worked for several years at large law firms in Utah and New Mexico, where he specialized in intellectual property and commercial litigation.
Achievements with SixFifty
Adam led the development of SixFifty’s Employment Agreements tool, which includes customizable offer letters, employment contracts, separation agreements, and arbitration agreements, tailored to the laws of all fifty states and Washington, D.C. As workforces become increasingly remote, it’s harder than ever for businesses to ensure they are complying with employment laws in every state where they have employees. With the Employment Agreements tool, SixFifty makes compliance simple. In addition to working on SixFifty’s employment tools, Adam also plays an active role in creating SixFifty’s pro bono products.
Get to Know Adam
Adam lives in the Sandia Mountains outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife, two kids, and two dogs (Lefty and Turkey). When not at work, you can usually find him outside skiing, mountain biking, or trail running. He earns his keep at home by baking sourdough bread every week. Adam is also a big fan of old country music: the more pedal steel and twang, the better.
TL;DR – Adam learned the hard way that sixth graders are worse than law school.
Bar Licensed
New Mexico
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