STORY 43

There are two parts to my story about NDAs.   The first occurred when I joined the board of my national professional association and was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement.  This was then held over my head when I reported harassment and the silencing of concerns about harassment, when I witnessed discrimination, and when I raised issues of financial impropriety.

The second took place after I was suspended from a position for incivility based on a complaint letter that actually stated I had not been uncivil but asked too many questions.  I was publicly suspended for 6 months. I sought relief in courts after the only process provided by my employer required that I sign an NDA.

 I felt silenced, disempowered, and swept under the rug by the NDA I signed, in the first situation.  When I chose voice and refused to sign an NDA in the second, that meant further public attacks on my credibility. When presented with an NDA, I was told that signing it was an urgent, essential first step.  The confidentiality agreement still hangs over my head as a threat. NDAs are still seen as normal trade off by lawyers.