The Massachusetts Senate recently passed Sen. Diana DiZoglio proposal to end the use of taxpayer-paid nondisclosure agreements throughout state government, but the other branch of the legislature and the governor aren’t expected to quickly follow suit.
DiZoglio, who during a debate on sexual harassment policies in 2018 broke a non-disclosure agreement she signed when fired from a job as a House aide years earlier, recently renewed her call for House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Gov. Charlie Baker to take action.
“The practice of using taxpayer funded hush agreements to silence employees and victims of abuse across our state government is a shameful one, and one that must be ended—not only to help those who have already been silenced but also to protect potential future victims from abusers who could be hiding in plain sight,” said DiZoglio. The senator added, “NDAs don’t just silence victims, they perpetuate harassment and outright assault and place others at risk by keeping these offenses secret.”
The state Senate approved the ban 38-1 and also changed its own rules to prohibit the practice. However, DiZoglio said, the governor’s office has refused to release information about the amount of tax dollars spent on NDAs, while the House is known to have given out at least 33 NDAs in recent years.
Recently, Gretchen Carlson, the woman at the center of the #metoo movement known for taking down Fox News titan Roger Ailes, joined DiZoglio and others for a rally at the State House to support reforms.