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.
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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
Hawaii HRS Section 378-2.2
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.