Ex-Pinterest employee Ifeoma Ozoma describes why she helped draft the Silenced No More Act, a CA bill aiming to let discriminated-against employees bypass NDAs
Tech workers bound by NDAs in California gain a legal route to discuss discrimination publicly once the Silenced No More Act passes, removing the confidentiality clause as an employer's enforcement tool.
Second-order effects
Companies like Pinterest lose settlement NDAs as a way to keep discrimination claims out of the press, shifting leverage toward employees in future negotiations; Ozoma extends the effort beyond legislation with The Tech Worker Handbook, giving complainants a playbook for the process.
Third-order effects
The model travels: Washington became the second state to pass its own Silenced No More Act (banning NDAs covering harassment and wage violations) within months of California's signing, pointing toward a patchwork of state laws that tech employers must navigate as remote work scatters their workforces across jurisdictions.
The trend: Workplace NDAs are being dismantled state by state, with ex-employees-turned-advocates like Ozoma converting individual disputes into durable legal infrastructure.
Please read this piece I wrote. The use of NDAs to silence victims of abuse *should* be anathema to American speech values - yet. The use of NDAs to shield executives and hide the truth from shareholders *should* be anathema to public markets - yet. 1/ https://www.nytimes.com/...
Funny timing! I just heard that at the crack of dawn @8en sent a staff email saying @Pinterest is supporting #SilencedNoMore. He then couldn't help but say the company never “required” anyone to sign [NDAs]. 😂😂 Who is turning down health insurance/rent in a pandemic, sir?? 4/
NEW: Pinterest announced today it's supporting the Silenced No More Act, the bill backed by Pinterest whistleblower @IfeomaOzoma which would let California workers break NDAs to talk about discrimination. https://www.protocol.com/...
“I'm helping lead the passage of a bill in California that, if signed into law, will allow victims of any kind of workplace discrimination to speak openly about the abuse they experience, regardless of the language in an NDA,” writes @IfeomaOzoma. https://www.nytimes.com/...
It is a privilege to bear witness to the courage of my friend @IfeomaOzoma who has spoken truth to power at an enormous cost. Thank you for always calling for us to do what is right - and for fighting tool and nail to fix the broken systems around us. https://twitter.com/...
This work is so important. We cannot have accountability and informed choice (for employees, consumers, and shareholders) with this silence. #silencednomore https://twitter.com/...
If someone told me this I would have thought it was a joke. Meanwhile they said they “investigated” and found no wrong doing in their case. https://twitter.com/...
A prerequisite for ending the toxic and racist culture that pervades much of the tech sector is abolishing gag orders aiming to silence workers who have faced abuse. Must read op-ed by @IfeomaOzoma her experience and the need for policy action. https://www.nytimes.com/...
This super important op-ed about why we need to get rid of NDAs for toxic work issues is the reason we launched @LiftOurVoicesUS https://www.nytimes.com/...
When employers impose excessively aggressive #NDAs on their employees, they protect and perpetuate the discrimination that caused their employees to blow the whistle in the first place. Crucial piece by @IfeomaOzoma https://www.nytimes.com/...
This is an important piece on how NDAs are used to silence women and prevent them from exposing abuse in the workplace, keeping abusers in power. Going forward with my experience helped other women know they weren't alone in theirs. Women with NDAs can't. https://www.nytimes.com/…
“In a society that claims to value speech rights, people should at least be able to tell the truth about their experiences.” @IfeomaOzoma on reporting discrimination at work. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Yo! @Pinterest! This is grotesque! Institutional gaslighting via breezy-sounding policy positioning. Where's the apology? Where's the real anti-racist changes? Where's the payout to @IfeomaOzoma and @erikashimizu for the racism they endured at your company? https://twitter.com/..…
And this goes out to all the reply guys and gals! NDAs used by employers (and landlords!!) to cover discrimination, harassment, and assault are *never* necessary. Just imagine the way these have likely been used in severance agreements during this pandemic. 😣 3/ https://twitter.c…
“The Silenced No More Act won't end discrimination, harassment and assault, but my hope is that it will end the silence around them.” Please join us in getting this important bill passed for 40M Californians. @SenatorLeyva @CELA_Lawyers @EqualRightsAdv @erikashimizu 5/5
I'm sure someone you know has signed one of these agreements at some point - whether at the start or end of employment. They're written so restrictively, you could be married to them and not know. Nobody should have the right to coerce your silence about abuse forever. 2/
Great writing & activism by @IfeomaOzoma on the need to pass the #SilencedNoMoreAct If business leaders are not focused on running ethical businesses the law should prevent them from silencing people who suffer abuse https://www.nytimes.com/...
Adding to this thread: Hours after this op-ed pubbed, Pinterest's CEO emailed staff, backing the Silenced No More Act and saying Pinterest won't require workers to sign NDAs that bar them from talking about their experiences at work https://www.protocol.com/...
Thank you Ifeoma for fighting to shine a light on the abuses that the ultra wealthy try to hide in the dark with NDA clauses in severance and settlements. https://www.nytimes.com/...
In Opinion “For a long time, I hesitated to speak about the issues I experienced at Pinterest,” writes Ifeoma Ozoma, who signed an NDA when she left the tech firm. “I didn't want to be sued, and I hoped that the company would do the right thing.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Important and powerful piece from stellar @IfeomaOzoma. “Workers across the country should be able to speak freely — without fear of legal retribution — about discrimination and harassment”. https://twitter.com/...
NDAs “appear to increasingly be used to prevent workers from speaking out about instances of harassment, discrimination or assault they may face on the job,” says @IfeomaOzoma. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Pinterest will also not require employees to sign agreements that would prevent them from talking about their personal experiences at Pinterest after they leave. @IfeomaOzoma wrote about her own Pinterest NDA in a NYT op-ed today. Quite the timing! https://www.protocol.com/...