The Solicitor of Labor has issued a report highlighting DOL’s recent enforcement priority—employment contracts with provisions that may discourage workers from exercising their rights under worker protection laws. The report, Solicitor of Labor Enforcement Report: Coercive Contractual Provisions, focuses on seven types of concerning provisions.
The provisions most likely to concern DOL investigators are those that:
- require workers to waive statutory protections;
- require employees to agree that they are independent contractors;
- shift liability for legal violations to workers or other entities;
- require employees to pay the employer’s attorney’s fees if they do not prevail in litigation or arbitration;
- require workers to repay the employer for training if they leave a contract early;
- contain confidentiality, non-disclosure, and non-disparagement provisions;
- require workers to report safety concerns to their employer before contacting government agencies.
The report serves as a reminder that DOL will scrutinize contractual provisions in employment agreements and policies in employee handbooks for provisions that it believes chill workers’ exercise of their rights. DOL appears especially focused on provisions that could chill workers’ communication with enforcement agencies.