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October 2, 2025
Effective as of September 1, 2025, the Texas legislature enacted Senate Bill 835, giving a voice to survivors of sexual abuse, rather than permitting nondisclosure and confidentiality provisions to command silence.
A young man named Trey Carlock inspired this groundbreaking legislation, which is referred to as “Trey’s Law.” After Trey survived sexual abuse as a child at a summer camp, a settlement with the camp contained a non-disclosure provision that prevented him from sharing his story. Trey took his own life at age 28.
Senate Bill 835 makes nondisclosure and confidentiality provisions unenforceable in legal settlements of civil cases involving sexual abuse. Thus, it is now unlawful to prohibit the disclosure of sexual abuse or the facts underlying such abuse. Trey’s Law applies to nondisclosure and confidentiality provisions in all types of agreements, including employment agreements and settlement agreements.
Trey’s Law defines sexual abuse as indecency with a child, sexual assault, aggravated assault, sexual performance by a child, trafficking, and compelling prostitution. Each of these terms is codified in the Texas Penal Code.
Notably, Trey’s Law applies retroactively, thereby rendering unenforceable all agreements – even those entered into prior to September 1, 2025 – with nondisclosure and confidentiality provisions related to sexual abuse. For pre-September 1, 2025 agreements, Trey’s Law prohibits the parties from trying to enforce the nondisclosure or confidentiality provisions, unless a party seeks declaratory judgment for enforcement.
Parties still may seek to enforce other confidentiality provisions of an agreement, such as settlement amounts, so long as the provision does not preclude the disclosure or underlying facts of the sexual abuse.
Employer Takeaways
It is always a good idea to ask legal counsel to review your employment, settlement, and other agreements to ensure that they comply with state and federal law. In addition, legal counsel can assist you in reviewing your employment policies to ensure that they properly address anti-harassment, workplace violence, and the like, as well as clearly outline complaint, reporting, and investigation procedures.
The author of this article, Domenica B. Tomasetti, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Texas, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
