Can you refuse to sign an NDA?

I don’t see how after the fact could be enforced.

Yes, you can refuse. BUT it sort of depends on whether you were hired as part of a union, whether you have a contract, whether you live in an at-will employment state, and so on. There isn’t a super-easy answer because the details matter.

You could certainly ask “why wasn’t I told of this before I was hired?”

Yes, you can.

But of course, an NDA is often a condition for whoever you’d have the agreement with, to do whatever it’s about. Often, work.

So many work contracts tend to involve NDA’s, and if a contractor won’t sign it, the other party needs to agree to waive it, or accept the contractor’s amendments that they will sign, or alter it and provide a version the contractor will sign, or just not work with that contractor.

Similar with an employer, but then there are other contracts and employment laws in effect. So an NDA may be a precondition of employment, or an employer might try to add an NDA and ask employees to sign it. Again, if an employee doesn’t want to sign, then there are similar possibilities (waiver, modification and signing), and an employer might consider firing an employee who won’t sign (and may often act like the employee has no choice), though there may be labor laws that don’t let them fire employees for that cause, or they might not actually be willing to lose some employees just due to an NDA.

I have seen people refuse to sign NDAs and non-compete contracts, and not get fired for it. Employers and contract-hirers do sometimes just relent.

I have also modified the language of some contracts with employers and contract-hirers (NDAs, and work-for-hire IP agreements, and non-competes), and have them accept me signing that version.

Many such contracts tend to contain over-reach that may be unenforceable or even be illegal, and/or are not things the employer is going to push back on. Often they’re using a boilerplate contract and aren’t even really aware of the details. Though other times they will decide they don’t want to work with someone who reads and argues about contracts.

@chyna I was reading about how some abuse victims have been coerced into signing NDAs. Obviously, it can be challenged in court because of that, but most people don’t know that. So I was wondering, if you are leaving a toxic/abusive situation and are offered money in exchange for an NDA, can you just refuse? What are the consequences?

I know it seems like a dumb question. I was under the impression that you can get in a lot of trouble for violating them, so I was curious if they can still go after you if you just refuse and expose them anyways with proof.

If you had to sign an NDA as part of getting hired for a job, you are not required to sign it, but then, they aren’t required to hire you. Usually there is a quid pro quo for an NDA. You get some benefit and the other person gets your silence.

I once got a private tour of ILM from one of the head animators. In order for use to get in we had to sign an NDA. I could have refused but then I wouldn’t have seen the cool stuff. Same at Pixar (although at Pixar they’re really careful only to show you public stuff anyway).

You can of course refuse, but often they even hold your severance hostage with their demand you sign it.

@MakeItSo1701 If someone offers a person money to sign an NDA, the person has a choice between:

A) Sign the NDA and take the money.
B) Refuse the NDA and don’t get the offered money.

So yes, the person can just refuse. The only reason to sign such an NDA is to get something you want from the other party. In a “hush money” case like you mentioned, they’re offering money in exchange for not saying anything, and signing the contract gives them some sort of recourse in case you take the hush money but then talk about it anyway.

One type of complication that can arise, is if a prosecutor decides to prosecute them for the crime and calls you as a witness and obliges you to say things covered by the NDA. There may be laws that say such NDAs cannot legally penalize anyone for giving testimony. Etc. In some cases, one might also consider whether a perpetrator might take other aggressive actions against a witness if they don’t take hush money. One would want to consult a lawyer for all the potential and likely situations to consider.

I imagine that if you sign one and then choose to disclose anyway, you can be sued because you signed a binding contract. People who sign know what they’re getting into; it’s clearly explained. They can choose the money or to prosecute the abuser.

@MakeItSo1710 Ok, in that case, and depending on the abuser, I would be afraid they would somehow ruin my life or make it a living hell. If the abuser has money, they can certainly hire people to invade a persons social media, perhaps post nude pics of them whether real or AI. Stalk them, damage their property, hurt loved ones.
To be honest, in my youth I probably put myself in situations or places that I shouldn’t have been in and luckily never got into this kind of situation. But with the internet and cell phones, today it’s too easy to be in a bad situation.
I know. TL:DR

Depends on what the NDA is for. More details would help.

Related: https://www.nachtlaw.com/blog/2024/03/eight-reasons-the-nda-you-signed-might-not-be-enforceable/

There is usually a carrot and a stick that come with with those.