©2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP www.seyfarth.com 2025 Cal-Peculiarities | 177 holding that a plaintiff in a same-sex harassment case must prove that the harasser harbored a sexual desire for him.190 Thus, severe or pervasive sexually offensive conduct can create a hostile work environment, so long as the conduct is based on the victim’s gender, regardless of whether the harasser had any sexual interest in the victim.191 6.5.13 #MeToo prohibitions on confidentiality clauses A Code of Civil Procedure section effective in 2019 makes unenforceable any settlement agreement provision that prevents the disclosure of “factual information related to a claim” filed in court or in an administrative action and regarding sexual harassment or retaliation for reporting harassment or discrimination.192 In 2022, the “Silence No More Act” expanded the scope of the Code of Civil Procedure section to make unenforceable any settlement agreement that prevents the disclosure of workplace harassment or discrimination, or failure to report workplace harassment or discrimination, for agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2022.193 The newly amended section still permits settlement agreements to prohibit confidentiality as to the amount paid in settlement194 and as to the identity of the claimant—if the claimant so requests and if no party is a government agency or official.195 A Civil Code provision makes unenforceable any contractual provision that waives a party’s right to testify in a legal proceeding (if required or requested by court order, subpoena or administrative or legislative request) regarding criminal conduct or sexual harassment on the part of the other contracting party, or the other party’s agents or employees.196 A Government Code provision prohibits employers from requiring an employee to release any FEHA claim or right, or to sign a non-disparagement agreement that denies the employee the right to disclose information about sexual harassment, in exchange for a raise or bonus or as a condition of employment or continued employment.197 In 2022, the “Silence No More Act” expanded the scope of the Government Code section to make unenforceable, as a condition of employment (or in a separation agreement), non-disparagement agreements that deny the employee’s right to disclose information about any “unlawful acts in the workplace” unless the provision also includes specific carve-out language stating, in substantial effect: “Nothing in this agreement prevents you from discussing or disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace, such as harassment or discrimination or any other conduct that you have reason to believe is unlawful.”198 This provision does not apply to any negotiated agreement to settle a FEHA claim filed in a legal proceeding or through the employer’s internal complaint process.199 The provision also expressly does not prohibit inclusion of a general release or waiver of all claims in a separation agreement (provided that the employee is notified of the right to consult with an attorney while being given at least five business days to do so).200 Nor does the provision prohibit confidentiality as to the amount paid in settlement.201 6.5.14 Expanding liability exposure for harassment The Legislature, in 2018, created a remarkable series of nudges to judges to favor harassment plaintiffs, adding a new FEHA section202 to declare that the harassment laws aim to provide all Californians with equal opportunity to succeed in the workplace, and liability for harassment occurs when “the harassing conduct sufficiently offends, humiliates, distresses, or intrudes upon its victim, so as to dispute the victim’s emotional tranquility in the workplace, affect the victim’s ability to perform the job as usual, or otherwise interfere with and undermine the victim’s personal sense of well-being”; plaintiffs need not show that “tangible productivity has declined as a result of the harassment,” so long as a reasonable person subjected to the discriminatory conduct would find that the harassment so altered
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