Agencies attack restrictions on employer speech: Part 1

Ater Wynne LLP
NW Law frim

The EEOC and NLRB continue to target employers who restrict employee speech and conduct, especially when those restrictions could impact employees’ rights under labor and employment laws.

The EEOC recently filed suit attacking the use of certain terms in employer settlement agreements, this time against CollegeAmerica, a private college based in Salt Lake City. The EEOC alleges that CollegeAmerica conditioned an employee’s separation benefits, among other things, on her promise not to file a complaint or grievance with any government agency or to disparage CollegeAmerica. When the employee filed a charge against CollegeAmerica with the EEOC alleging discrimination and retaliation, College America promptly filed an action against the employee in state court for breach of the agreement.

The EEOC claims that the agreement violates the employee’s right to file charges with the EEOC and that CollegeAmerica’s filed its lawsuit in retaliation for the employee’s filing of the EEOC charge. The EEOC is seeking to recover the employee’s attorney fees incurred in defending the state court action, and for injunctive relief to invalidate the employee’s separation agreement and prevent CollegeAmerica from using the offending terms in its form settlement agreements.

This follows a lawsuit that the EEOC filed in February against CVS Pharmacy, seeking to invalidate settlement terms including confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses, a general release, and a covenant not to sue, among other things. See our earlier coverage of the CVS case here.

Our next post will address similar actions against employers by the NLRB.

 Print This Post  Email This Post