Committee on Workforce Development and Audit ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is a home rule unit of government pursuant to the 1970 Illinois Constitution, Article VII, Section 6(a); and
WHEREAS, pursuant to its home rule power, the City of Chicago may exercise any power and perform any function relating to its government and affairs including the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, women across the nation have united through a social media campaign sharing their stories of sexual harassment and assault by using the hashtag #MeToo; and
WHEREAS, in the wake of the #MeToo cultural movement, powerful men are not the only perpetrators of sexual misconduct, and in fact, women have started the #WhatAboutUs hashtag to demonstrate that sexual harassment is rampant among blue-collar employment as well; and
WHEREAS, the #MeToo and #WhatAboutUs movements have spread into courts, workplaces, legislative bodies, universities, and factories bringing the topic and its severity to the forefront of American conversations; and
WHEREAS, one of the mechanisms that perpetrators of sexual assault and sexual harassment utilize to silence their victims is nondisclosure or nondisparagement agreements ("NDAs"); and
WHEREAS, NDAs prevent the disclosure of facts that help establish a cause of action for civil damages for sexual offenses such as sexual assault, sexual harassment, or harassment or discrimination based on sex; and
WHEREAS, Zelda Perkins, who worked as Harvey Weinstein's assistant in Miramax's London office in the late 1990s, came forward in October of 2017 as a victim of sexual harassment and cast light on how egregious NDAs can be in silencing and shaming victims; and
WHEREAS, the agreement Ms. Perkins and one of her colleagues signed in 1998 called for a 250,000 pounds ($400,000 at the time) payout, therapy for Mr. Weinstein "for as long as his therapist deems necessary," as well as other measures ai...
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