David W. Garland, Member of the Firm and Chair of the firm’s National Employment, Labor & Workforce Management Steering Committee, was quoted in Law360, in “States Act to Quell Harassment as #MeToo Momentum Surges,” by Braden Campbell. (Read the full version – subscription required.)

Following is an excerpt:

Lawmakers in New York, California, New Jersey and several other states have recently proposed bills aimed at stamping out workplace sexual harassment by curbing the use of nondisclosure and mandatory arbitration provisions in employment contracts and settlement agreements.

Following a series of high-profile scandals and the coalescence of the #MeToo movement, a growing number of state legislatures are proposing bills that would empower victims to come forward, and attorneys expect that trend to pick up steam in 2018. …

And with one of employers’ bigger incentives to settle gone, some workers may not be able to keep their complaints out of the public eye even if they would prefer to, said Epstein Becker Green member David Garland.

“It’s in their advantage, at times, to settle and move on with their lives, and do so without the glare of publicity,” said Garland, who chairs the firm’s employment, labor and workforce management steering committee. “Not everybody who’s been wronged in the workplace wants it played out in the media. I think the law of unintended consequences might apply here.”

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