We previously celebrated the enactment of the bipartisan Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which President Biden signed this past March. The law allows employees and other plaintiffs to void pre-dispute arbitration clauses for disputes alleging sexual assault or sexual harassment and, therefore, to bring their claims directly to court.

Now Congress is doubling down on that effort. The so-called “Speak Out Act” aims to liberate survivors of sexual assault or harassment from nondisclosure or non-disparagement agreements that purport to silence them. (The legislation applies, in other words, to agreements signed before any dispute arises — most commonly at the outset of employment. It does not affect nondisclosure or non-disparagement provisions in settlement agreements negotiated after a dispute has arisen.) The bill passed the Senate with unanimous consent and the House with strong bipartisan support, and it awaits President Biden’s signature to become law.

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