If you’re working for the rich, keeping house now means keeping secrets. 

According to a recent report from The New York Times, nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), which were once associated mainly with business deals, are increasingly becoming a condition of working in wealthy households. Employers are requiring staff like butlers, tutors and private chefs to sign agreements to ensure that what happens in their homes stays private.

Demand for NDAs has increased tremendously over the past decade, especially the past five years. Joseph Maya, managing partner and co-founder of the law firm Maya Murphy, has been in the legal field for three decades. He said in an interview with the Times that the number of inquiries he receives about NDAs has “easily increased a hundredfold” over the past five years.

Maya, an employment law expert, said the reason NDAs are on the rise is that more people have money and are purchasing lavish homes that require upkeep. 

“They have more valuables, bigger art collections, more jewelry and cars, and they are concerned about their information being known,” Maya said. “Thirty years ago, you didn’t have to worry about something being posted on TikTok, posted on Instagram, posted on X two seconds after somebody sees something.”

One landscape designer had experience working with wealthy clients. Still, she was taken aback when a potential job with a household-name celebrity came with an important condition: secrecy. 

The proposed contract would cover her, her employees, her subcontractors and her crew members, she told the Times .

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