Amid pressure from Elizabeth Warren, Mike Bloomberg offers to release former workers from NDAs
"They should contact the company and they’ll be given a release."
Following pressure from Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic primary rivals, Mike Bloomberg offered to release women who had sued him over past comments from any nondisclosure agreement they had signed stemming from their complaints.
The former New York City mayor and billionaire businessman said that his company, Bloomberg LP, had “identified 3 NDAs that we signed over the past 30-plus years with women to address complaints about comments they said I had made.”
“If any of them want to be released from their NDA so that they can talk about those allegations, they should contact the company and they’ll be given a release,” Bloomberg said in a statement, adding that they would no longer offer such confidentiality agreements to resolve claims of sexual harassment or misconduct going forward, as long as he controls the company.
“I recognize that NDAs, particularly when they are used in the context of sexual harassment and sexual assault, promote a culture of silence in the workplace and contribute to a culture of women not feeling safe or supported,” the Medford native said. “It is imperative that when problems occur, workplaces not only address the specific incidents, but the culture and practices that led to those incidents.”
The announcement came after Warren confronted Bloomberg during his first appearance at a Democratic presidential debate Wednesday over the 78-year-old’s history of sexist remarks, as well as lawsuits against him and his company.
ABC News reported Thursday that court records show at least 17 women have taken legal action against Bloomberg’s eponymous business information company over the past three decades, including three cases that specifically named Bloomberg for fostering a workplace culture that degraded women. None of the lawsuits have made it to trial; four were reportedly dismissed or withdrawn, five were settled out of court, and three are still active.
According to ABC News, several women were interested in publicly sharing their stories, but feared the consequences of violating their nondisclosure agreements.
During the debate Wednesday night, Warren called on Bloomberg to immediately release the women from the agreements. And during a CNN town hall Thursday night, the Massachusetts senator even brought a release form she created for Bloomberg to sign.
“So I used to teach contract law, and I thought I would make this easy,” said Warren, who taught at Harvard Law School for two decades before her election to the Senate.
“I wrote up a release and covenant not to sue,” she continued. “And all that Mayor Bloomberg has to do is download it —I’ll text it — sign it, and then the women, or men, will be free to speak and tell their own stories.”
During the debate, Bloomberg suggested that it wasn’t that simple and tried to distanced himself from the complaints.
“None of them accuse me of doing anything, other than maybe they didn’t like a joke I told,” he said.
However, Warren has worked to use Bloomberg’s words, as documented by former employees, against him — specifically a 1990 booklet in which he reportedly referred to members of the British royal family as a “fat broad” and “horse-faced lesbian.”
“Think what that must be like to work in a company or to be someone else trying to make it in that field, and you’re up against the owner of the company, a multi-multi-billionaire, someone finally says, ‘This is bad enough, I’m going to raise a complaint, I’m going to go to a lawyer, or I’m going to go to H.R. — I’m going to raise a complaint.’ You’ve got to admit, that takes a lot to be able to do that, and that the consequence of it is he dumps some money on it and then stuffs a gag in the woman’s mouth,” Warren said during her CNN town hall.
Reiterating her argument that the past allegations against Bloomberg — in addition to his previous support for stop and frisk policing — would be a general election liability if the former Republican mayor won the Democratic nomination, Warren had called the NDAs disqualifying.
“If he’s not willing to remove those gags and let those women —and maybe those men — talk, then he is disqualified from being president of the United States,” she said.
In his statement Friday afternoon, Bloomberg pledged that his company would “review and reform our policies where necessary with regard to equal pay and promotion, sexual harassment and discrimination,” in addition to ending the practice of offering NDAs. As president, Bloomberg said he’d also pursue policies aimed at increasing workplace equity, like paid family leave and a $15 minimum wage.
Warren has also been critical of Bloomberg’s massive self-funded campaign, accusing him of trying to buy the nomination with his unprecedented spending. However, she confirmed Thursday that she still would support Bloomberg in a hypothetical general election against Trump.
“I believe that everyone on [the debate stage Wednesday] would make a better president than Donald Trump,” Warren said.
“What we’ve got right now is a chance for the Nevada voters to make sure that Michael Bloomberg is not our nominee, and that’s what I’m asking for,” she added.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com