Unlocking the Power of the Silenced No More Act for Employees and Their Attorneys

Employees and their attorneys in Washington State have a potent tool at their disposal: the Silenced No More Act (SNMA). Enacted in 2022, this law broadly prohibits nondisclosure provisions—including those in stipulations during litigation—that pertain to workplace conduct, interactions between employers and employees, and even among employees themselves, regardless of the legality of the conduct. Importantly, for each discovery request that an employer predicates their compliance on entry of a stipulated protective order, the employer may be liable for a distinct violation of the SNMA. Moreover, attorneys representing employers may share in this liability under the common law of civil conspiracy. Such violations can add up quickly, exposing employers and their attorneys to significant liability.

For employees, this means they can seek statutory damages of $10,000 for each violation, along with attorney fees and costs. Courts have inherent supervisory powers that allow them to award these damages within ongoing litigation as sanctions. This shared liability underscores the importance of vigilance in litigation. By leveraging SNMA protections, employees and their attorneys can not only safeguard their rights but also turn attempts to silence them into a strategic advantage, holding employers accountable for each misstep.