Nondisclosure agreements and externalities from silence
How do contractual restrictions on worker voice affect information flows about employers? We develop a framework in which the legal risk from violating a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) reduces the willingness of workers to share negative information, making it more difficult for high-road employers to differentiate themselves to workers. Empirical support for these ideas comes from studying the relationship between NDA use and the content of Glassdoor reviews after three states prohibited employers from using NDAs to conceal unlawful conduct.
Clause and Effect: Theory and Field Experimental Evidence on Noncompete Clauses
We study worker noncompete clauses in a large field experiment with two finance firms. Across ~14,000 job offers to freelance recruiters on short-term contracts, we randomize wages and the presence, salience, and duration of noncompetes (all contracts also included a nondisclosure agreement). Removing a noncompete increases mobility between competing employers by 36–52% and raises workers’ total earnings from the two firms by 12–17%. We find no evidence—rejecting even small effects—that removing noncompetes generates secret leakage.
Smith Students Gain Graduate-Level Edge in Data-Driven Decision Making
University of Maryland professors Dave Waguespack and Evan Starr developed “Making Better Business Decisions with Data,” a course teaching undergraduates causal inference and AI-aided data analysis for strategic decision-making, preparing them for graduate studies, internships, and data-driven careers.
20 Faculty Teams Awarded Smith Internal Research Grants
The Smith School has awarded 2025 Smith Internal Research Grants to 20 faculty-led teams to support high-impact research in areas including AI, entrepreneurship, labor markets, corporate communication, and online learning, fostering innovation across disciplines.
Employer and Employee Responses to Dobbs V. Jackson
More than a year has passed since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs V. Jackson ruling overturned federal abortion rights. During this period, employers in states making abortion illegal have stepped in to cover out-of-state abortion-related healthcare not available locally. But to what effect?
Smith School Awards 14 Faculty Grants for Innovative Research
Fourteen faculty teams at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business have been awarded three-year grants from the school for research projects that address the world’s grand challenges and reimagine learning in support of the University of Maryland’s vision and the Smith School’s strategic plan.
New Year, New Goals
A new year brings a fresh start, a full slate of 365 days to work on improving oneself in one way or another. Ten Smith professors are sharing their New Year’s resolutions: Tejwansh (Tej) Singh Anand, Clinical Professor of Practice and the Academic Director for the MS in Information Systems Programs “Find innovative ways to propel myself and my students Fearlessly Forward.”
Management Professor’s Research Spurs U.S. Push to Ban Noncompete Agreements for Workers
The United States is moving to ban noncompete agreements in labor contracts, and research from Maryland Smith management professor Evan Starr is behind the push.
Smith Professor’s Research Leads to Newly Passed Bill to Curb Workplace Sexual Harassment
Congress has just passed a bipartisan bill to limit nondisclosure agreements. The Speak Out Act, having cleared both the Senate and House, is expected to be signed into law by President Biden. And, as Axios reports, it “comes slightly more than five years after the resurgence of #MeToo captured the nation's attention and demonstrates that social movement's long reach.”
White House Call for Labor Reforms Extensively Cites Research by Smith’s Evan Starr
U.S. Treasury's recent study reveals anti-competitive labor practices depressing wages amidst COVID-era 'tight labor market' narrative. Biden Administration proposes reforms in response to "The State of Labor Market Competition." Research by Maryland Smith's Evan Starr cited, highlighting detrimental impacts of noncompete and nondisclosure agreements on workers. Insightful testimony informs legislative action.