The new legislation doesn’t apply to all forms of discrimination. A worker covered by an NDA who alleges she was paid less than her male colleagues because of her gender, for example, won’t have any additional freedom to speak out. Other forms of harassment -- based on an employee’s race or religion, for instance -- also aren’t covered by the new law.
Earlier this year, Biden signed a bill banning mandatory arbitration for workplace sexual harassment and assault claims, allowing them to be heard in court rather than the more-secretive system. That law, much like the legislation passed by the House Wednesday, narrowly pertains to sexual harassment and assault allegations.
With the new law in place, Wall Street firms “are going to have to be more concerned” about sexual harassment, and “upper-level management will have to spend more time to put the message out that we cannot have this happen,” said Merrick Rossein, a professor at the City University of New York School of Law.
“This, in a way, may empower women to have a little more power in the settlement discussions,” he said. “Women can say, for example, ‘I have the ability to disclose this -- this is going to cost you more money.’”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.