A Former Swalwell Staffer Agreed Not To Disparage Him In Discrimination Settlement, Document Shows

A former employee of Rep. Eric Swalwell signed an agreement with confidentiality and non-disparagement requirements when they left his office, despite the California Democrat’s claim that no one on his staff signed an NDA during his tenure.

The agreement, obtained by POLITICO, pertained to a workplace discrimination dispute and was not related to sexual harassment, according to the employee, who was granted anonymity because they feared retaliation. The document is dated within the last five years; POLITICO agreed not to disclose the specific year to protect the employee’s anonymity.

On Friday, a separate ex-staffer told the San Francisco Chronicle that she had sexual encounters with Swalwell when she was his subordinate and alleged that he sexually assaulted her on two occasions. POLITICO has not independently confirmed the allegation.

Swalwell, in a statement, denied the Chronicle’s report on Friday afternoon.

“These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor,” he said. “For nearly 20 years, I have served the public — as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies.”

Swalwell and his campaign spokespeople didn’t respond to requests for comment from POLITICO about the non-disclosure requirements. The campaign fell into a tailspin on Friday, with multiple top staffers resigning and major endorsers suspending their support.

The Democratic lawmaker, a leading candidate for California governor, had previously pushed back forcefully against online claims, circulated primarily from social media content creators, that he behaved inappropriately with female staffers, and that women were reticent to come forward because they signed non-disclosure agreements.

His campaign blasted the claims as a “false, outrageous rumor,” and flatly denied the existence of NDAs.

“In 13 years, no one in Eric Swalwell’s Congressional office has ever been asked to sign an NDA. Ever,” Micah Beasley, a campaign spokesperson, said in a statement.

That denial spurred the employee in the workplace discrimination dispute to agree to discuss their agreement with Swalwell’s office, which is represented in the document by his chief of staff.

“It was a disappointing and hurtful experience, and the arrogance with which they deny the claims brings it back,” the ex-employee said. “The ease and arrogance with which they lie made me want to come forward because he shouldn’t be California’s next governor.”

The agreement has multiple provisions regarding confidentiality and non-disclosure. It stipulates that, by signing, the employee "will not voluntarily disseminate or publish, or cause anyone else to disseminate or publish, in any manner, disparaging, threatening, defamatory, or negative remarks or comments” about their employment in Swalwell’s office or any information learned during that time that is “adverse to the interests” of Swalwell’s office or staff.

It carves out some exceptions to the confidentiality requirement, including disclosing it to health care providers, attorneys or tax preparers. It also permits disclosure to congressional entities, such as the House Ethics Committee, as well as to the media if the parties are approached for comment in an “adverse news story.”

The now-former employee said it took several months to come to an agreement with Swalwell’s office, and there was a monetary component to the settlement. The person has not spoken publicly about the agreement since, but decided to talk about its existence after the campaign’s statement earlier this week.