Oregon Employee and Severance NDA
Draft an Oregon employee or severance NDA that follows the Workplace Fairness Act (ORS 659A.370), which voids clauses silencing discrimination or sexual assault.
Introduction
An Oregon 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 of claims, 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 Oregon, the Workplace Fairness Act (ORS 659A.370) makes it unlawful for an employer to impose, as a condition of employment, a nondisclosure or nondisparagement clause preventing a worker from disclosing prohibited discrimination or sexual assault; such a clause is void. A severance or settlement agreement may include that kind of term only where the employee, not the employer, requests it. DocDraft drafts an Oregon-compliant employee or severance NDA from your facts, with those protected-disclosure carve-outs built in, and attorney review is available before anyone signs.
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Key Things to Know
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ORS 659A.370 targets condition-of-employment agreements. A nondisclosure or nondisparagement clause imposed as a condition of employment, promotion, compensation, or benefits cannot prevent a worker from disclosing discrimination or sexual assault.
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Such a clause is void. When a provision violates the Workplace Fairness Act by silencing that conduct as a condition, it is void and unenforceable, and requiring it is an unlawful employment practice.
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The employee-request exception is narrow. A severance or settlement agreement may include a confidentiality or nondisparagement term about that conduct only where the employee asks for it, not where the employer imposes it.
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The covered conduct is discrimination and sexual assault. The statute reaches conduct prohibited under Oregon's employment discrimination laws and sexual assault, broader than sexual harassment alone.
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It applies to both onboarding and separation. A day-one condition-of-employment NDA and a severance release are both covered, with the employee-request exception carved out for the separation side.
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No specific carve-out wording is mandated. Oregon voids the offending clause rather than requiring an exact sentence, but a clear written carve-out keeps the rest of the agreement enforceable.
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The federal floor still applies. The Speak Out Act, the Defend Trade Secrets Act immunity notice, and non-waivable EEOC, NLRB, and SEC reporting rights all apply on top of Oregon law.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Employee and Severance NDA in Oregon, 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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Oregon Requirements for Employee and Severance NDA
Oregon Workplace Fairness Act (ORS 659A.370)
Draft an Oregon employee or severance NDA that follows the Workplace Fairness Act (ORS 659A.370), which voids clauses silencing discrimination or sexual assault.