Subject to the Protected Activity Not Prohibited section, Employee agrees to refrain from any disparagement, defamation, libel, or slander of any of the Releasees, and agrees to refrain from any tortious interference with the contracts and relationships of any of the Releasees.
Example: The following non-disparagement clause would be unlawful under Government Code section 12964.5: “Former Employee agrees that they will not make any statement, directly or indirectly, verbally or in writing, that would cause harm or embarrassment to the Company.” claims in a separation agreement?
It means a lot to agree not to disparage someone. Non-disparagement clauses have been enforced by a vast majority of state and federal courts, and proving that you have disparaged someone is not as hard as you think.
It is generally unlawful in California for an employer's severance agreement to state that you may not compete against the employer in a future job.
When settling a lawsuit or pre-litigation disputes, parties sometimes insist on including non-disparagement clauses in their settlement or severance agreements. Broadly speaking, these clauses prevent one or both parties to the agreement from making negative comments about each other.
Key Takeaways. Employers' confidentiality, severance, and nondisparagement agreements must include carveouts to comply with federal whistleblower laws. Employers cannot prohibit employees from disclosing confidential or disparaging information to government regulators.
The decision issued on February 21, 2023 by the NLRB restricts companies from demanding silence from laid-off employees through confidentiality, non-disclosure, and non-disparagement provisions in their severance agreements.
These agreements don't even have to be signed to be deemed problematic, the board noted: If the firm merely presents employees with agreements that contain broad language requiring confidentiality or nondisparagement, it is engaging in an unfair labor practice.