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As the House Oversight and Reform Committee continues to investigate workplace dysfunction within the Washington Commanders organization, the committee chair has identified two specific areas where legislation would be useful based on lessons learned from the Commanders’ situation.
On Friday, the committee announced that Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced legislation aimed at restricting the use of non-disclosure agreements in an employment setting. She also introduced a bill on the use of images obtained from employees in the course of their employment.
The two bills unveiled today would set standards for employers to protect workers and encourage them to promote workplace cultures that aim to prevent — not hide — workplace wrongdoing,” Maloney said. “I firmly believe that those responsible for the culture of harassment and abuse at the Washington Commanders must be held accountable and that we as legislators must use our legislative powers to protect other employees from this serious wrongdoing.”
The committee’s statement also includes an important passage regarding the NFL’s failure to implement a recommendation made by Mary Jo White following the events leading up to the abrupt sale of the Panthers.
“In 2018, following the NFL’s investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination against then- Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, the league failed to implement an independent investigator’s recommendations to prohibit the use of non-disclosure agreements that limit reporting potential Violations or cooperation in league investigations under the Personal Conduct Policy,'” the committee said. “As a result, NFL teams like the Washington Commanders can still use NDAs to evade accountability and silence employees who have experienced or witnessed workplace harassment and discrimination.”
Presumably, as part of the ongoing investigation, the league has admitted to the committee that White’s recommendation has not been implemented. The league had previously not responded to questions about whether NDA use had been restricted.
The Accountability for Workplace Misconduct Act, as explained by the committee, “would protect against abuse of non-disclosure agreements by prohibiting employers from using those agreements to disclose, prevent, or limit an employee’s ability to engage in harassment, discrimination, or retaliation with government agencies affect or Congress.” The law would also “establish uniform requirements for how employers deal with workplace investigations and increase awareness and transparency of the process for workers.”
The Professional Images Protection Act, the committee said, “would protect against misuse of workers’ images by employers and ensure workers have a say over how and when their images are used for business purposes.” This bill stems from the alleged use of outtakes of cheerleading video footage by team leaders.
For those who reflexively cry, “Don’t Congress have better things to do?” When the House of Representatives conducts investigations like this, Congress can indeed do several things at once. And these two bills become tangible examples of the possible evolution of labor law triggered by a particular investigation. to limit certain abuses that might occur in businesses across the country.