Story 139

After reporting harassment, bullying, discrimination, and other human rights violations inside a federal agency, I was met with retaliation instead of accountability. Internal investigative units ignored, altered, and buried evidence. I was blamed, threatened, and treated as the problem, all with the clear intention of silencing me.

In many federal workplaces, silence is enforced through intimidation and the misuse of NDAs. Countless employees, especially women, have been pressured to sign them simply to end the abuse or protect what remains of their careers. Once they sign, their voices disappear, the misconduct stays hidden, and those responsible continue without consequence.

I am now experiencing that same pressure. An NDA has been raised as a way to make me go away, and retaliation has intensified because I refuse to sign away my voice or my story. I have spoken out publicly because I know a day may come when I am forced into silence — and before that happens, the truth must be heard.

My experience is not unique. Through connecting with others across the federal system, I hear story after story of employees who have faced harassment, discrimination, human rights violations, and then pressure to stay quiet. Oversight is minimal, and those implicated in wrongdoing often control the very processes meant to address it. NDAs only deepen this lack of accountability.

This is why legislation like the Can’t Buy My Silence Act is urgently needed. It would stop employers from using NDAs to bury misconduct, discrimination, and human rights violations. It would protect victims from coercion and allow them to speak to their families, their doctors, and the authorities. If this bill existed earlier, I would not be sitting across tables being pressured to give away my story and many others would not have been erased before me.

I share this for everyone who was silenced, and for those who are afraid to speak. We deserve transparency, accountability, and workplaces where truth is not punished but protected.