Is Herman Cain Creating New Legal Headaches by Denying Harassment?
GOP presidential contender Herman Cain has labeled sexual harassment allegations by two former employees “totally baseless and totally false,” raising a new legal question: Could he be violating nondisparagement agreements?
The New York Times blog The Caucus raised the issue after Cain vehemently denied the allegations, though he softened his comments later in the day. Politico broke the story, reporting that Cain was accused of making sexually suggestive remarks while he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. The Washington Post and the New York Times have stories on the allegations and denials, as well as Cain’s admission that one of the complaints resulted in “some sort of settlement or termination” worth “maybe three months’ salary.”
The Caucus spoke to Washington, D.C., employment lawyer Debra Katz, who said Cain could be creating legal problems “by suggesting that these are trumped-up charges.” She said settlements often include nondisparagement clauses. “He’s either breached the agreement or he’s exposing himself to allegations of defamation,” she said. She speculated that Cain’s lawyers weren’t helping him craft his responses.
Later in the day, however, Cain was more equivocal when Judy Woodruff of PBS, asked if he had behaved inappropriately. “In my opinion, no,” Cain said. “But as you would imagine, it’s in the eye of the person who thinks that maybe I crossed the line.”
