House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) introduced a pair of bills on Friday that seek to combat the abuse of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) and the misuse of progressional images, both direct responses to her panel’s ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and abuse within the Washington Commanders organization.
Announcement of the bills comes days before NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is set to testify before the committee as part of the panel’s probe into the Washington, D.C., football team.
The first bill, dubbed the Accountability for Workplace Misconduct Act, seeks to ban post-dispute NDAs that would hamper an individual’s ability to disclose harassment, discrimination or retaliation and forbid employers from trying to intimidate or take action against employees who divulge or try to report instances of harassment, discrimination or retaliation, among other measures.
Additionally, the legislation would require that employers implement policies that provide multiple ways to report workplace misconduct, including one that is confidential.
The second piece of legislation, titled the Professional Images Protection Act, would compel employers to receive permission, in writing, from employees before utilizing their professional images. The bill would also create fines for employers who use professional images without giving proper notice and receiving consent.
In a statement on Friday, Maloney said the Commanders and NFL “failed to adhere to a higher standard and serve as an examples for workplaces across the country.”
“Our investigation has revealed significant gaps in existing federal law that allow employers to use legal agreements to prevent employees from speaking out about unlawful behavior in their workplaces and allow executives to use professional images for lewd and inappropriate purposes,” she said.
The oversight committee launched an investigation in October into the Commanders’ allegedly hostile workplace culture and how the NFL handled the situation after a league probe into the then-Washington Football Team found that the workplace environment was “highly unprofessional,” especially for women.
Maloney said the pair of bills “would establish standards for employers to protect workers and encourage them to foster workplace cultures that aim to prevent—rather than conceal—workplace misconduct.”
“I strongly believe that those responsible for the culture of harassment and abuse at the Washington Commanders must be held accountable, and that as lawmakers, we must to use our legislative powers to protect other employees from this serious misconduct,” she added.