Ga. lawmakers take step toward banning NDAs for child sexual abuse victims

But there was little doubt about the bill’s fate: Lawmakers’ biggest disagreement in committee was how far they could go in defanging NDAs that are already in effect. The committee voted unanimously to make existing settlements harder to enforce by requiring a judge to review them first.

The bill, dubbed “Trey’s Law,” is named for Trey Carlock, who lived in Atlanta as a boy and was sexually abused at a religious summer camp in Missouri.

Carlock died by suicide in 2019 after being silenced by a settlement agreement, his sister Elizabeth Phillips testified Monday. Days before he died, Phillips said, Carlock told a therapist he felt he was still being controlled by his abuser and that he’d never be free.

“This room is packed because survivors are finally able to have a venue to be heard in Georgia,” Phillips said.

NDAs emerged decades ago as a way for tech companies to protect trade secrets. The agreements were meant to keep former employees from spilling confidential information.

But they have exploded in use since, becoming standard language in many legal settlements and employment contracts. One recent survey found that nearly half of American workers are bound by one.

Critics say NDAs are especially insidious when they cover allegations of sexual abuse, because they keep patterns of misconduct hidden and prevent victims from seeking help. Phillips said her brother was afraid to talk about what happened to him, even with therapists.

Atlanta therapist Teddy Perkins said she had encountered similar NDAs from a wide swath of organizations in her work with survivors of sexual abuse: hospitals, churches, day care centers, schools and even nonprofits focused on sexual violence. Being forced into silence, she said, deprives survivors of the sense of connection they need to heal.

Among the supporters testifying in favor of the bill was Hayle Swinson, whose story of being spiritually manipulated and pressured into a relationship by a college administrator sparked a reckoning last year at Truett McConnell University in White County.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez / AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez / AJC

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution detailed Swinson’s allegations, which began while she was a student and continued as an employee, in an investigative report.

Swinson told lawmakers that although she was not personally asked to sign an NDA, some college officials who tried to intervene were.

“The damage is compounded when institutions prioritize protecting their reputations over protecting people,” Swinson said, adding: “Abuse like this does not rely on physical force. It relies on silence, power imbalance and the fear of speaking out.”

One of those officials was Christopher Eppling, who raised concerns about then-Truett McConnell Vice President Bradley Reynolds and tried to investigate his conduct.

Eppling told lawmakers he was forced to stop investigating Reynolds and was later forced out of the university. He said he was given a choice: sign an NDA as part of a severance package or be fired.

“I wish I could say that this only happens in faraway places. That’s not the case,” he said. “This happens in our great state of Georgia. It happened to me.”

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp urged Georgia lawmakers to pass a version of Trey’s Law during his State of the State address in January. The bill next faces a vote from the full House of Representatives, though it isn’t clear when it will be set for debate.

Four states — California, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas — have enacted similar laws, and Phillips said she expects the U.S. Senate to consider a federal version soon.