S. 4524 · 117th Congress

Speak Out Act

Introduced on Jul 13, 2022 by Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY). 14 cosponsors, 5 of them from another party. Became Public Law 117-224.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 117-224
Introduced
Jul 13, 2022
Cosponsors
14
5 from the other party
Policy area
Law
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

A bill to limit the judicial enforceability of predispute nondisclosure and nondisparagement contract clauses relating to disputes involving sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Subjects

  • Assault and harassment offenses
  • Contracts and agency
  • Crime victims
  • Sex offenses

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Dec 7, 2022). Public domain.

Speak Out Act

This act prohibits the judicial enforceability of a nondisclosure clause or nondisparagement clause agreed to before a dispute arises involving sexual assault or sexual harassment in violation of federal, tribal, or state law.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Kirsten E. GillibrandD-NYSponsor

Democrats · 9

Republicans · 5

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Passage
    Nov 16, 2022· House· Passage· Passed 315–109

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jul 13, 2022Introduced in Senate
  2. Jul 13, 2022 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  3. Sep 15, 2022 · SenateCommittee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
  4. Sep 20, 2022Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Durbin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
  5. Sep 20, 2022 · SenateCommittee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Durbin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
  6. Sep 20, 2022 · SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 493.
  7. Sep 29, 2022Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  8. Sep 29, 2022 · SenatePassed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6050; text: CR S6050)
  9. Sep 30, 2022 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  10. Sep 30, 2022 · HouseReceived in the House.
  11. Sep 30, 2022 · HouseHeld at the desk.
  12. Nov 14, 2022 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 1464 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of S. 4524 with 1 hour of general debate. Bill is closed to amendments. The resolution provides that any time through the legislative day of Nov. 18, 2022, the Speaker may entertain motions offered by the Majority Leader or a designee that the House suspend the rules with respect to multiple measures that were the object of motions to suspend the rules on the legislative day of November 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, 2022, on which the yeas and nays were postponed. The resolution provides that H.Res. 1463 is hereby adopted and one motion to commit.
  13. Nov 15, 2022 · HouseRule H. Res. 1464 passed House.
  14. Nov 16, 2022 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 1464. (consideration: CR H8518-8525)
  15. Nov 16, 2022 · HouseRule provides for consideration of S. 4524 with 1 hour of general debate. Bill is closed to amendments. The resolution provides that any time through the legislative day of Nov. 18, 2022, the Speaker may entertain motions offered by the Majority Leader or a designee that the House suspend the rules with respect to multiple measures that were the object of motions to suspend the rules on the legislative day of November 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, 2022, on which the yeas and nays were postponed. The resolution provides that H.Res. 1463 is hereby adopted and one motion to commit.
  16. Nov 16, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on S. 4524.
  17. Nov 16, 2022 · HouseThe previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  18. Nov 16, 2022Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 315 - 109 (Roll no. 480).House · Roll call 480
  19. Nov 16, 2022 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 315 - 109 (Roll no. 480). (text: CR H8518)House · Roll call 480
  20. Nov 16, 2022 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  21. Dec 1, 2022Presented to President.
  22. Dec 1, 2022 · HousePresented to President.
  23. Dec 7, 2022Signed by President.
  24. Dec 7, 2022Signed by President.
  25. Dec 7, 2022Became Public Law No: 117-224.
  26. Dec 7, 2022Became Public Law No: 117-224.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 5, 2026 · loaded Oct 5, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.