California Considers New Law to Protect Workers Who Break NDAs to Speak Out Against Discrimination

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 13 July 2021

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Ifeoma Ozoma detailed the racism and sexism she faced as a Pinterest employee in a Twitter thread back in June 2020, she did so knowing she was in violation of her nondisclosure agreement. Now, Ozoma is co-sponsoring a California bill to protect workers under NDAs who say they’ve been discriminated against on the basis of race, sexual orientation, religion, disability or age. The bill would expand protections passed several years ago for workers who come forward about sex-based discrimination despite having signed an NDA. With no companies formally against the new bill, it could signal a shift in big tech, which has long been protected by NDA practices. We’ll talk about the fight over NDAs and what it could mean for workers in the tech industry and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:32.1	Thank you. From KQED Public Radio in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:48.0	Some of the Bay Area's cute little startups with funny names and baby-faced founders
0:52.4	have now grown up into the most powerful companies in the world.
0:56.0	And one way that they exercise their power over workers is the widespread use of nondisclosure agreements.
1:02.0	In the wake of the Me Too movement, activists began to successfully agitate against the practice.
1:07.0	Now former Google, Facebook, and Pinterest employee, Ifoma, Osoma, has been on a mission to get California legislation passed to protect workers who want to speak out about discrimination, regardless of whether they've signed an NDA.
1:19.3	We'll talk with Ozoma and California Senator Connie Lava about a bill to provide that protection, now working through the legislature.
1:25.6	That's all next on Forum after this news.
1:35.0	Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal.
1:37.8	When Ifoma Azoma detailed the racism and sexism she faced as a Pinterest employee
1:42.7	in a Twitter thread back in June 2020,
	...

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