© 2024 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Click here for information on transmitter status in the Treasure and Magic Valleys

How NDAs left the office and entered our homes

The gavel sits in front of House Rules Committee chairman Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) during a House Rules Committee hearing on the impeachment against President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.
The gavel sits in front of House Rules Committee chairman Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) during a House Rules Committee hearing on the impeachment against President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.

One legal document has quietly reigned supreme in American board rooms, film sets, and sometimes even homes: non-disclosure agreements.

Journalist Gretchen Carlson knows all too well the lengths workplace NDAs can go to silence employees, especially employees who speak out against mistreatment. Her2016sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Roger Ailes, the former Fox Newschairmanand CEO, was one of the cases that inspired the #MeToo movement.

But NDAs aren’t just for employees anymore. More and more people around the country are using and signing these documents to protect personal, sensitive information.

A new feature from New York Magazineexploreshow NDAs have become “the defining legal document of our time.”Wespeak to the writer of that piece.

What’s fueling this move? And how will it affect our lives going forward?

Copyright 2024 WAMU 88.5

Arfie Ghedi

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.