Employers can legally ban victims of workplace discrimination and harassment from holding future positions using ‘no-rehire’ settlement clauses.
For Charlotte Bennett, alleged harassment at the hands of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) led to years of costly litigation and “extraordinary pain.” Bennett’s state-level case was finally settled in April, with a little-known clause included: If a worker settles a case accusing their employer of sexual harassment, discrimination or any form of abuse, their employer may legally include a “no-rehire” clause in the settlement. This clause bars accusers from seeking future jobs with their employer.
In Bennett’s case, the no-rehire clause in her settlement with the state of New York bars her from employment across New York’s Executive Chamber permanently, an office with an $18 million budget and hundreds of employees.
No-rehire clauses can also bar workers from employment with any affiliates, subsidiaries or partners of their ex-employer’s organization. If another company hires an employee, and it is later acquired by or merged with a company that employee has a no-rehire clause with, a federal court affirmed in 2023 that the worker can legally be terminated from that new job, too.
In an age of mergers and monopolies, the consequences of a no-rehire clause may follow a victim of workplace harassment forever. Depending on the size of their former employer, an ex-employee could be barred from hundreds of different companies if their settlement includes a no-rehire clause.
If Member X was the one who sexually harassed you, you should not be barred from going to Member A or Member B seeking employment. And these particular clauses do just that.
Asm. Catalina Cruz (D-N.Y.)
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency established to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination, has said that refusing to rehire a worker alleging harassment is a form of illegal retaliation. Even so, existing federal statutes do not ban or limit the practice of no-rehire clauses in settlements.
New York state Assemblymember Catalina Cruz (D) introduced AB 293 to fully ban such clauses across the state. If the Assembly bill and its Senate counterpart were passed, New York would join California and Vermont as the only states prohibiting or limiting these clauses.
Asm. Cruz says she introduced this bill in response to efforts by the New York-based Sexual Harassment Working Group (SHWG), which was established by former city and state government employees who experienced sexual harassment from legislators or staffers.
Cruz added that the SHWG recommended policies “geared at cleaning up the behavior that had become prevalent in places like Albany and even the City Council, with certain circles turning a blind eye to sexual harassment.”
“If Member X was the one who sexually harassed you,” says Cruz, “you should not be barred from going to Member A or Member B seeking employment. And these particular clauses do just that.”
Cruz added: “It’s a very normal clause to include in settlements.”
SHWG co-founder, lawyer and former state-level staffer Erica Vladimer alleged harassment by state Sen. Jeffrey Klein (D-N.Y.). Because of her experience, Vladimer remains involved with the SHWG, which recently reestablished itself as Harassment Free New York. It has a list of legislative priorities, including Asm. Cruz’s bill banning no-rehire clauses.
“Advocating for workers has been incredibly healing in ways I could not imagine after I first shared my story publicly of being sexually harassed by a sitting state senator,” Vladimer says. “But somehow it never gets easier to share what I personally experienced—the actual harassment, the shame, the loss of close friends, being reminded just how many people colluded to protect my harasser. Every time I have to prepare for the ethics commission hearing to potentially move forward again, is always emotional and quite taxing.”
You’re not alone, I promise. It’s not your fault. … Choosing to report your harassment may not be easy, but it is important. It does make a difference.
Erica Vladimer
Vladimer says victims of workplace harassment should document their experiences as thoroughly as possible and report to HR. “You’re not alone, I promise. It’s not your fault,” she added. “Choosing to report your harassment may not be easy, but it is important. It does make a difference.”
Even in states that have some protection against no-rehire clauses in place, the work is not over. In Vermont, the no-rehire clause restriction only applies to sexual harassment claims, leaving victims of other workplace misconduct (such as racial discrimination) unprotected.
In New York, these clauses have also been used to blacklist prison guards that went on strike over dire conditions in the workplace.
Emphasizing that many groups are victims of workplace misconduct, Asm. Cruz says her bill also protects LGBTQ+ people, racial minority groups and working-class people by banning all no-rehire clauses outright.
For readers who support banning no-rehire clauses, Asm. Cruz says that “the most important thing they can do is help us reach out to their local members and ask them to sign onto the bill and to urge the passing of the bill.”
“We are a society of emergencies. Generally we’ll pass legislation when the emergency is right in front of our face,” says the Assemblymember. “It is still an important piece of legislation to move, and I’d love the readers to be able to tell that to the local legislators.”
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