Hawaii Joins Expansion of Nondisclosure Bans, Covers Settlements

Hawaii expanded its ban on workplace nondisclosure agreements to cover settlements and other contracts that would prevent employees from talking about claims of sexual harassment or sexual assault.

Gov. David Ige (D) signed the legislation (HB 2495) into law on Tuesday, revising the state’s restrictions on NDAs that it first enacted in 2020. The changes to the Hawaii law took effect immediately.

• The state’s previous law banned employers from requiring workers to sign NDAs “as a condition of employment,” which left open the option to include NDAs in settlement agreements or other types of contracts.
• Hawaii is one ...