[gruez]

Is that's what's happening here? The bit about suing her "even if the statements she is making are true" makes me think they're not trying to sue her via defamation, but through non-disparagement agreements. If that's the case, I'd hesitate to characterize this as SLAPP. If you voluntarily entered into a non-disparagement agreement and got something in exchange (eg. in exchange for severance or whatever), then at the very least it's slightly different than a journalist or whatever trying to expose some scandal.

[ben_w]

For such reasons, I count non-disparagement agreements as a curtailing of free speech.

Everything that makes freedom of speech worth defending when the government wants your silence, also applies to businesses.

The US puts freedom of speech on a pedestal. But stuff like this makes me aware that's a lot more limited than people would like to believe.

(I've signed at least two non-disparagement agreements, but also I'm not in the US).