Trey's Law in Alabama: NDAs Can't Hide Sexual Abuse
Alabama's Trey's Law, effective October 1, voids confidentiality terms that stop survivors of sexual abuse from speaking. What it covers and what it doesn't.
This article discusses sexual abuse.
For a long time, a survivor who settled a case over sexual abuse could end up signing away the right to talk about it. The confidentiality clause was often the price of the settlement. Since October 1, Alabama has a law that says those clauses don't hold up.
It's called Trey's Law. It was Senate Bill 30, sponsored by Senator Matt Woods of Jasper, with a companion bill in the House by Representative David Faulkner of Mountain Brook. Governor Ivey held a ceremonial signing on March 30. The law took effect October 1, 2026, and you can read the enrolled bill yourself. It's only a few pages.
Who it's named for
Trey Carlock was a Texas man who was abused as a child at a Christian youth camp in Missouri. He sued, and he settled with an agreement that limited what he could say about it. He died in 2019, and his family has said that agreement weighed on him. The camp's former director, Pete Newman, is serving two life sentences plus 30 years in Missouri for crimes against multiple minors.
Advocates took Trey's name to legislatures. Missouri and Texas passed versions of the law before Alabama did.
What the law says
The core of it is one sentence. Any provision of a nondisclosure agreement, confidentiality agreement, employment agreement, settlement agreement, or any other kind of agreement that prohibits someone from disclosing an act of sexual abuse, or facts related to it, is void and unenforceable.
A few points about how it's written:
- "Sexual abuse" is defined by conduct. It means any conduct that would be a crime under Alabama's sex offense statutes in Chapter 6 of Title 13A, or under any of the offenses listed in the sex offender registration law, Section 15-20A-5. It doesn't matter whether anyone was ever charged, convicted, or sentenced.
- It applies to adults and children. The definition looks at the conduct, not the age of the victim.
- It's limited to the abuse. The law reaches only the parts of an agreement about the abuse. It says it doesn't affect other terms, including compensation. A settlement can still be confidential about the amount.
- The Legislature stated its reasons. The act declares that an agreement keeping sexual abuse secret is against Alabama public policy, and that it's meant to protect survivors' right to speak freely and also to keep their own identities and experiences private if they want to.
The catch: it only looks forward
The law applies only to agreements entered into, signed, or amended on or after October 1, 2026. Nothing in it reaches an agreement that was signed earlier. That's the most common criticism of the bill, and it's a fair one. Someone who signed a gag clause in 2024 is in the same position today that they were in last year, unless the agreement is amended after October 1.
If you're bound by an older agreement, don't assume this law frees you, and don't assume it doesn't. Whether a later change to the agreement counts as an amendment, for example, is the kind of question that turns on the paperwork. Have a lawyer read it first.
What it doesn't do
Trey's Law deals with contract terms. It doesn't change defamation law, and it doesn't make every statement safe. A false statement about a named person can still lead to a lawsuit, whatever a confidentiality clause says. The statute voids bans on telling "another individual or entity," which is broad language. How courts will apply it is still unknown, because the law is only a few weeks old.
If you're a survivor negotiating a settlement
After October 1, a clause that says you can't talk about the abuse should have no force in Alabama. You can still negotiate confidentiality over the money. You can also still choose privacy, since nothing in the law requires you to speak publicly.
Before you sign anything, have the whole agreement reviewed, including any clauses that mention "facts related to" the case. Those words matter now.
If you're an employer or an organization
If your company, school, church, or camp uses standard settlement or employment templates, those templates need a fresh look. A clause that bars disclosure of sexual abuse is void in any agreement signed or amended after October 1, so leaving it in your form gains you nothing and can mislead the person who signs it. Whether a particular clause reaches "facts related to" an incident is a drafting question, and a lawyer should answer it before the form goes out again.
Call us
If you've been asked to sign a confidentiality agreement and aren't sure what it covers, or you run an organization that needs its agreements reviewed, call John Medaris Law at (205) 663-1584. We're at 230 Bearden Road in Pelham. We'll read the paperwork with you and tell you plainly what it does, and if someone else is better suited to your situation, we'll say so.