Hawaii Employee and Severance NDA
Draft a Hawaii employee or severance NDA that follows HRS 378-2.2, which bars an employer from requiring an NDA that gags workplace sexual harassment or assault.
Introduction
A Hawaii employee NDA is a confidentiality agreement between a company and a worker that protects the employer's trade secrets and confidential business information. A severance NDA is the version signed at separation, usually inside a release agreement, and it often keeps the terms of the exit private. What separates it from a commercial NDA between two businesses is who signs it: a worker cannot be forced to stay silent about unlawful conduct. In Hawaii, HRS 378-2.2 bars an employer from requiring an employee to sign an NDA that prevents them from disclosing or discussing sexual harassment or sexual assault in the workplace. It targets the pre-dispute NDA required as a condition of employment and covers sexual harassment and assault, not general discrimination. DocDraft drafts a Hawaii-compliant employee or severance NDA from your facts, with that carve-out built in, and attorney review is available before anyone signs.
Key Things to Know
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Hawaii's limit comes from HRS 378-2.2. An employer may not require an employee to sign an NDA that prevents them from disclosing or discussing workplace sexual harassment or sexual assault.
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The restriction is about NDAs the employer requires. The law targets an agreement imposed as a condition of employment, the pre-dispute NDA signed at or during hire, not a resolution the worker chooses later.
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The scope is sexual harassment and sexual assault. Hawaii's statute covers those specifically. It does not, by its terms, void an NDA that touches general discrimination or other unlawful conduct.
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It reaches conduct across work settings. The protection covers harassment or assault in the workplace, at work-related events, between employees, and between an employer and an employee.
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A post-dispute confidential settlement can still be allowed. Once a dispute has arisen, an employee may choose to keep a settlement confidential, because that choice belongs to the worker rather than being forced up front.
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Trade secrets remain fully protectable. Hawaii law limits the sexual-misconduct gag, not the protection of legitimate confidential information, so a well-drafted NDA keeps that scope.
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Federal protections still apply on top. The Speak Out Act, the non-waivable right to report to agencies like the EEOC and the NLRB, and the Defend Trade Secrets Act notice apply regardless of the agreement's terms.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Employee and Severance NDA in Hawaii, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Employee and Severance NDA guide walks through them.
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Hawaii Requirements for Employee and Severance NDA
Draft a Hawaii employee or severance NDA that follows HRS 378-2.2, which bars an employer from requiring an NDA that gags workplace sexual harassment or assault.
Frequently Asked Questions
An employee NDA is a contract in which a worker agrees to keep the employer's confidential information private, covering things like trade secrets, client lists, and internal processes. A severance NDA is the same instrument signed at separation, usually inside a release agreement in exchange for severance pay, and it often also keeps the departure terms confidential. In Hawaii, neither one can be required in a way that gags the worker about workplace sexual harassment or sexual assault.
It prohibits an employer from entering into or requiring an employee to enter into a nondisclosure agreement that prevents the employee from disclosing or discussing sexual harassment or sexual assault occurring in the workplace, at work-related events, between employees, or between an employer and an employee. In short, an employer cannot use a required NDA to silence a worker about workplace sexual misconduct.
By its terms, HRS 378-2.2 covers sexual harassment and sexual assault. It does not reach general discrimination or other unlawful conduct the way broader state laws do. That said, federal law and the reporting rights an employee cannot waive still apply, so a Hawaii NDA should never try to block a worker from reporting any unlawful conduct to a government agency.
An employer can ask you to sign an NDA to protect legitimate confidential information, but under HRS 378-2.2 it cannot require one that prevents you from disclosing or discussing workplace sexual harassment or sexual assault. A compliant onboarding NDA protects trade secrets while leaving that disclosure right open, and reviewing it with an attorney before signing is an option DocDraft makes available.
Yes, within limits. Hawaii's restriction targets an NDA the employer requires up front. Once a dispute has arisen, an employee may choose to resolve it through a confidential settlement, because keeping it private is the worker's own choice at that point rather than a condition imposed before any dispute. A severance NDA should still leave the underlying sexual-misconduct disclosure right intact.
Yes. HRS 378-2.2 limits an NDA that gags workplace sexual harassment or assault, not the protection of legitimate confidential business information. A Hawaii employee or severance NDA can still protect trade secrets, client and pricing data, and other proprietary information, and it should include the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act immunity notice like any well-drafted agreement.
The federal Speak Out Act makes a pre-dispute NDA or non-disparagement clause unenforceable to the extent it covers a dispute involving sexual assault or sexual harassment, which reinforces Hawaii's own limit. A worker also keeps the non-waivable right to report to agencies such as the EEOC, the NLRB, and the SEC. Those protections apply no matter what the agreement says.