These days, corporate America worries about the implications of external and publicized whistleblowing — especially in light of revelations about our transportation and information ecosystems from employees at Boeing and OpenAI. But there is one important realization companies must have: that the removal of nondisclosure agreements and forced arbitration agreements presents not as a risk, but as an opportunity for companies to protect their bottom line.
Asking workers of all kinds to sign nondisclosure agreements is normalized and commonplace. But the idea that silencing employee concerns will make a problem simply fade away is becoming increasingly shortsighted — and also regulatorily scrutinized. Just last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned companies against intimidating potential whistleblowers by forcing them to sign broad agreements.
Hearing out employee concerns — whether these concerns are valid, not valid or somewhere in between — is not only an ethical thing to do. Practically speaking, companies that demote, muzzle or fire employees who speak up will lead to high turnover, poor morale and unnecessary spending.
The government cannot enforce this alone — a speak-up culture in corporate America makes business sense too. Audits and investigations are not money-makers or profit centers, and can save billions of dollars when they catch something that could bite a company down the line. Recently, a Pennsylvania-based construction company paid $50,000 to settle allegations that it retaliated against a human resources manager for investigating sexual harassment complaints against the company’s general manager. In Delaware, a salvage yard company will pay $40,000 in back wages and damages to a whistleblower who reported a smelter leaking propane to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. And in Tennessee, a staffing agency will have to pay $60,000 for removing a former account supervisor from a worksite when he complained that workers were mistreated due to national origin.
For a small business, tens of thousands of dollars can of course be painful — and the equivalent of burning a half year’s salary or an annual salary. For larger companies, the dollar amounts extend far beyond the tens of thousands. It was announced this year that Microsoft agreed to pay $14.4 million as a settlement to resolve allegations of retaliation and discrimination against workers who used their protected forms of leave including parental, disability, pregnancy and family care taking. If tens of millions sounds like a drop in the bucket for mega-corporations, then consider that the Securities and Exchange Commission reported awarding almost $2 billion to 385 whistleblowers in 2023. Whistleblowers who report to the SEC arise in all industries — from streaming companies to investment advisers and commercial real estate firms.
Keeping an open channel of communication for workers to air concerns can be a positive thing for the productivity of workers too. In a 2024 Deloitte report, 86% of 14,000 human resources and business leaders surveyed around the globe and across industries acknowledge a connection between transparency from leadership and employee trust. Research conducted by a neuroscientist measuring oxytocin in the brain found that employees in high-trust organizations are more productive, have more energy at work and collaborate better with their colleagues. They also have a longer tenure with their employers than people working at low-trust companies.
The removal of NDAs can open up a whole new era in employer-employee relationships, giving unprecedented transparency to boards and executive teams, all while breeding trust and accountability for workers. Instead of covering up what is happening, compliance and human resources teams should think several steps ahead before silencing workers or brushing off their complaints. It may feel counterintuitive, but inevitably, the truth always comes out — and companies who realize this to their core will inevitably have the competitive advantage in the long term.
Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky are co-founders of Lift Our Voices, a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating toxic workplace behavior. Neta Meidav is co-founder of Vault Platform, a speak-up and investigations software for the modern workplace.
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