A type of clause frequently used in employment agreements (i.e., as part of a
severance package), which requires that employees or former employees do not
"disparage" their employer upon severing a working relationship.
According to the legal definition of disparagement, this clause bars the
parties from making false and/or injurious declarations that are derogatory in
nature. Nondisparagement clauses are frequently worded so as to be unlimited in
time, technically preventing one party from ever disparaging the
other. Nondisparagement clauses may also be mutual, meaning both the employee
and the employer are barred from disparaging the other. Such clauses
have been subject to federal and state scrutiny and may not always be upheld in
court.