No Safe Harbor: Confidentiality Provisions Under Fire

The EEOC and NLRB have made enforcement over confidentiality provisions contained in employers’ policies and agreements that affect employees a public priority in the last couple of years. Last year, the Chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of the Whistleblower (OWB) promised that the SEC would scrutinize companies’ employee confidentiality provisions to determine whether they impede whistleblowers’ access to enforcement agencies. He also warned of action against in-house lawyers who draft those provisions. In April, the SEC issued the first order against a company whose code of conduct it found too restrictive. The OWB Chief recently warned that there is “no safe harbor” in any particular language, and he emphasized the close examination that any language will receive. Join us for a webinar that will discuss what employers and their lawyers need to consider as they review and, if necessary, revise their policies, procedures, and agreements to withstand agency scrutiny.