such thing as a confidential complaint.
“You may be surprised by people who will
disbelieve you” when they hear about it in
the rumor mill, warns Leonard. “You should
be prepared for the possibility that things
may deteriorate and force you to seek other
employment in the near term. There are ways
to mitigate this. Other women who have
suffered discrimination at the company can
provide support, more so if they are willing to
come forward. There is strength in numbers.”
unfortunately, settling
may be your only option...
Nicole was pregnant with her first child
when she was terminated from her job as an
insurance agent. “I suffered from extreme
hyperemesis gravidarum, essentially extreme
morning sickness. As a result, I had to visit
the ER twice and missed seven and a half
days of work over a few months. First my
boss started treating me differently and
transferred my job duties to someone else.
Then he gave me a termination letter that
stated that he needed to ‘sever ties’ because
he anticipated that I would also miss work
after having my baby.”
Her case may seem clear-cut, but not
according to the law of Georgia, where shelived. “There are federal laws that cover
sex discrimination everywhere,” explains
Leonard, “but states have differing definitions
as to what is legally actionable.”
Nicole and her former employer were
able to reach a settlement. Holder says that
many times companies would rather settle,
because it costs them less than fighting a
public legal battle. “My settlement made me
feel vindicated, that he was acknowledging,
albeit in a financial way, that what he did
was wrong,” says Nicole.
...But there will likely be strings.
There is a dark side to many of these
settlement agreements. “I was left with
one choice: settle and sign an NDA, or
walk away with nothing,” says Nicole.
Some NDAs are in place to protect a
company’s trade secrets, while others are
used to conceal nefarious behavior like
sexual harassment, discrimination and
retaliation. Those NDAs only help perpetuate
bad behavior — bad behavior that American
women still face in the workplace.
“Employers have for far too long used
a very effective strategy: Negotiate a
settlement amount, then send the agreement
over with the NDA, because most people donot want to walk away from a pile of money,”
says Holder. She proposes that settlements
be an à la carte package. “How much is
the actual violation of law worth to the
employer? How much for silence? How much
for the woman to resign? I want to make sure
my client can move on with her life in a way
she feels good about, not as if she got money
to stay trapped in a cage.”
There is more help for
women than ever before.
Past GH cover star Gretchen Carlson,
Julie Roginsky and I — all former Fox News
on-camera talent who had to sign NDAs
as part of our network settlements — have
teamed up to create a nonprofit called Lift
Our Voices. Through educational campaigns,
it aims to eradicate NDAs that conceal toxic
workplace behavior and fight the silencing
of women who have been harassed or
discriminated against. “Until we end the
culture that silences survivors of sexual
harassment, verbal abuse and other toxic
behavior, we will seek to be a resource for
workers to ensure that they are aware of the
real-life consequences of these gag orders,”
says Julie, a Democratic strategist.
One of the consequences for Gretchen
after her exit from Fox News was not being
allowed to contribute to or participate in the
making of a movie about her own life. In the
Oscar-nominated Bombshell, Nicole Kidman
portrays Gretchen during the time she sued
the late Fox News chairman Roger Ailes for
sexual harassment. “For decades, companies
have been able to hide their dirty laundry,”
says Gretchen. “Eradicating NDAs is the
next step in the cultural revolution, and
companies can decide if they want to be
on the right side of history or not.”
Another powerful resource is Time’s Up:
Started by a group of prominent Hollywood
women to fight the rampant harassment in
their industry, it has expanded its scope
to support women in any field. “The
Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund connects
workers facing sexual harassment to
attorneys who agree to give a first
consultation for free,” says Sharyn Tejani,
the organization’s director.
The #MeToo movement may have
gained notoriety through high-profile
women, but not having a platform or a
big paycheck shouldn’t prevent you from
standing up for yourself. “Through my
advocacy, I’ve learned that almost every
woman has a story,” says Gretchen.
“Giving every woman a voice is what
will finally resolve this issue.”Print and store emails from the
offender(s) and ones that discuss
HR policies.
Screenshot improper texts.
Compile a notebook with dates
and descriptions of events and
statements, ideally as they occur.
Get a copy of the
employee handbook.
Record conversations in which
somebody is being inappropriate to
you (but check with a lawyer first
to be sure you won’t run afoul of the
eavesdropping law in your state).If you are having
these problems...
“Lawyers love paper, and there is
a reason for that,” says attorney
Alexander W. Leonard. “There’s
a way to spin how conversations
went down and memories fade,
but documents are forever.”APRIL 2020 GH 67
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