Skip to main content

Pinterest will now let workers blow the whistle on harassment and discrimination, despite NDAs

Pinterest will now let workers blow the whistle on harassment and discrimination, despite NDAs

/

Ifeoma Ozoma is speaking out in The New York Times

Share this story

Illustration of the Pinterest logo, seemingly made out of shards of glass.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Pinterest has been battered with accusations of workplace discrimination for many months, and we’ve followed a large portion of that saga here at The Verge. That includes, most recently, how Ifeoma Ozoma, a former Pinterest employee who accused the company of trying to silence her, helped draft California’s new Silenced No More Act. Today, Ozoma is speaking out in The New York Times about why she believes nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) should not be allowed to keep whistleblowers in check — but Pinterest now says, effective immediately, it will stop making workers sign NDAs that prevent them from talking about such things.

That’s the news from Protocol: Pinterest will “not require employees to sign agreements that would prevent them from talking about their personal experiences at Pinterest after they leave,” according to the company’s global head of communications. It sounds like NDAs for other forms of company secrets will continue on, though.

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann also reportedly issued a staff memo this morning about the Silenced No More Act, where he came out in support of the bill. “Regardless of what happens in the legislature, whether the bill moves forward or not, we’re going to adopt the policies behind the proposed law,” he reportedly wrote, according to Protocol. Silbermann was one of the executives sued in December for allegedly creating a toxic work environment.