Management Bites Their Tongue When They Realize Employee Knows It’s Illegal To Have A Policy Against Discussing Wages
InterviewUnder the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act), we as employees have the right to communicate with fellow colleagues about our wages. We may discuss our salaries in face-to-face conversations and written messages. However, employers are often less than happy with this scenario. There are still many workplaces that will go as far as to repress any possible discussion about wages occurring among their workers.
This is what happened to one employee at a busy clinic. The author of the story who goes by the handle Cocteaubeauty shared how she got pulled in by her manager to speak to HR. “I was told I was being ‘investigated’ for discussing wages with my other employees,” she wrote in a post on the Antiwork subreddit.
But the author was not willing to sit there and swallow the interrogation she knew was against the law. So she stood up for herself and called them out. Scroll down through the whole story below which shows how knowing your rights and not taking things for granted is something we should all practice more often.
Recently, an employee at a busy clinic shared how she got pulled in by her manager to speak to HR for discussing wages with colleagues
Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko (not the actual photo)
Bored Panda reached out to the author of this story, who wished to remain anonymous, to find out more about what happened. “My first reaction, because we all work in a state of at-will employment where we can be fired or quit for any reason, is, am I going to be fired right now? It gives you a feeling of dread not knowing if it’s a minor thing like a time clock punch mistake, or a fireable offense,” she told us. It turns out that the incident ended with management profusely apologizing to her, “and I got the letter I asked for documenting the incident and company policy,” she added.
The author also said that every non-union job she has ever worked has always put pressure on the employees not to discuss wages. “When I was younger, I didn’t know that was illegal. That’s why now, as an adult, I was so quick to get documentation of the incident to protect myself.”
“I feel like a lot of employers discourage employees from talking about wages because it hurts their bottom line. If an employee who has worked at a company for five years finds out the new hire is making more money with less total experience, they’re going to realize their employer has been short changing their wages,” the author told us.
Later, the author added an update
Image credits: cocteaubeauty
The Redditor argues that it’s troubling because it creates an environment where we are expected not to question authority, and where we are not meant to trust our fellow employees. “I think not sharing wages pits us against each other and makes the promise of a higher wage seem like a carrot being dangled on a stick—we all are led to believe our wages are tied to our productivity and that’s why we shouldn’t share them, because the other person might ‘work harder.’ The truth is, wages are largely tied to market fluctuations.” The author concluded by saying that everyone should “know your worth as a worker, and join a union whenever you can, even the worst union in the world is better than none at all.”
There is a common misconception among employees that you cannot discuss your pay with others. In fact, employees’ right to discuss their salary is protected by law. However, some employers may try to restrict workers from discussing their salary in front of customers or during work, but that doesn’t mean they can legally prohibit employees from talking about pay on their own time.
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) prohibited employers from limiting employees’ activities related to “collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.” The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the body charged with enforcing the NLRA, has interpreted Section 7 to mean that employees have a right to discuss salary and wages. Moreover, The NLRA applies to virtually all private-sector employers, only exempting federal, state, and local governments, employers subject to the Railway Labor Act, and those who only employ agricultural workers.
And this is what people had to say about this whole incident
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Share on FacebookAh yes the American dream, the person who exploits the most people wins.
Ok, one more time with greater volume for those in the back: The HR department at your company is *not* there for YOU, they are there to help protect the company FROM you for its own bad behavior.
I actually know of an illegal policy at my job. They have it on there if you quit without 2 weeks notice the company will withhold your last pay cheque. That's against labour laws in my region. They have to pay you for the work you put in, regardless. At least here they do.
That's illegal in the US. A company cannot withhold your paycheck here.
Load More Replies...Americans sure hate unions, though. Endless acknowledgment of rampant abuse by companies, but, "unions are bad." 🙄
We don't hate unions. We hate the corruption and laziness of tenured workers it breeds. Crane operators at the port of L.A. are a perfect example.
Load More Replies...And how did HR even know you were discussing wages? Someone 'turn you in'?
Yep, the OP did say that the HR person mentioned that "discussing wages is making others uncomfortable". Probably someone older who'd been there a long time & wasn't making as much money.
Load More Replies...I notice every office I visited (including my own business,) has employee rights posted, usually in the break room. Must be a CA law or something.
It's a national law, and has been for decades, so employees know their basic rights.
Load More Replies...Either BP can't get enough of ranting about how miserable American businesses treat their employees or American businesses really treat their employees like shït and the stories are just to prove the animosity between American employers and their employees. If it's the latter I would like to express my deepest sympathy and sorrow to the Americans for the fact that a major part of your life is made a hell by controlling diabolical POS.
It is the latter my friend. I think most Americans wouldn't piss in their boss's face if it would save them from dying of thirst! I know I wouldn't stop to help my boss if I saw him getting beat to crap on the side of road. I might pull over and cheer them on though.
Load More Replies...When I am a nurse, the management violated everything and never have any problem. Sad reality of living in my country. I believe they have been reported many times but never see any penalty. They just bribed the govt guy regularly.. The boss is also spend money equal to 40 times my salary once for a shaman, which never work.. She just do that twice in a few year period.
I’d be very cautious. I filed a police for an assault by a patient at work. These happened continually and management would do nothing. I was warned not to file the report or pursue charges. After I filed the report, all my charts were audited. Every little mistake or mischarted item was noted. Next, I was suspended and accused of an act that put my license in jeopardy. Very nasty situation. All because I was tired of being beat up by patients at work.
Years ago I took a job with a mining company at a field office in my state. No one mentioned we got paid once a month so I got used to speaking up pretty quick. It was a new office so raises for all 5 employees came around at the same time. Except me. (I was 100% Office Staff.) So I asked my boss what was wrong with my work. Nothing. Well, everyone else got raises but I didn't; I was wondering why I was left out. "Do you think you should get a raise every time everyone else does?" Absolutely. And I did. Being the Office Staff I always knew what percent everyone got. It was nice.
The only employers who frown on discussing pay are the ones who know they are up to no good.
OP was not a "team player" or "part of the family" (two red flags for sure) so HR had to step in. LOL!
This is different in the UK, where it is definitely discouraged from sharing this sort of information. Although that may have changed in recent years, it used to be MYOB.
Here we have better labour laws but no enforcement unless you stand up for yourself, so tons of small businesses are completely ignorant of the law (or pretend to be)
I was going to fire someone for talking about wages, but it wasn't what you think. She noticed a manager had left himself logged into a computer and took it upon herself to look up what everyone made including the manager and then go around and talk to everyone about it. What was going to get her fired was accessing company documents she has no authorization to access. She was also stealing as well.
It may be legal to discuss wages with fellow employees, but I've found out the hard way that it's usually not a good idea. Right before the raises, we were told that they would be anywhere from 10¢ to $1.00 an hour, depending on our level of work. At the time, I worked with a couple of friends - at least I THOUGT they were my friends...they excitedly ran up to me and asked "Did you get the TOP raise, TOO?" I assumed they'd also gotten a dollar, so I smiled and said yes. BAM! That was the end of the friendship, because they'd each only gotten the dime raise. They started making life miserable for me, and I, in turn, got cocky right back with them. My boss pulled me aside to ask what happened...he said "You all used to be friends...what happened?" I told him "They tricked me into admitting what my raise was, now they're jealous and angry because I'm not a slacker like they've always been." He groaned, and said "You NEVER tell anyone what you make!" No schiff...lesson learned!
The lesson learned shouldn't be "don't discuss wages" but instead "keep your personal and business life separate". I know you want to be friendly with co-workers and it's natural to do so but money and friendships don't tend to mix well. And anyways, YOU didn't do anything wrong there - if those other people were smart in any way, shape, or form, they'd have used that information to either negotiate themselves a higher raise or figured out how to improve their work to have made themselves worth that same amount, as well. What a bunch of jerks that they decided to be scornful towards you instead of being introspective and wondering why their work wasn't valued as highly as yours. I think you're better off without those kinds of people as friends, as much as it may suck. If they were true friends, they'd have been happy for you and would have kept any pay disputes between them and your boss(es) instead of viewing you as some sort of enemy for making more.
Load More Replies...When I worked retail in was on a multi-site. 6 different stores owned by the same company. I always talked about pay, talked about pay so much that staff from one of the other stores started to realise they were being ripped off by their manager. There were on the wrong rate, weren't getting their yearly increments, weren't getting correct bank holiday pay, you name it they were being screwed on it. By the time I left, that particular store paid out about €150,000 in lost wages.
In the UK it is legal for your employment contract to ban you from discussing your wages at work. But they cannot prevent you discussing your wages outside of work.
Really? I find that hard to believe, we b***h about our wages all the time
Load More Replies...It can be disastrous. A lot of people get jealous when they realize someone else is getting paid more than them and this causes problems. I think it's a great policy not to discuss wages. I learned long ago when I was a young man that people get envious and they start treating you differently simply because of how much or how little you get paid.
and we have found that silence means wage disparities persist. if YOU don't want to talk, don't. But everyone else is moving towards transparency, and you'll look like a dinosaur hoarding and siloing in your corner office. and again, THAT POLICY IS ILLEGAL AND UNENFORCEABLE in most private US companies.
Load More Replies...Ah yes the American dream, the person who exploits the most people wins.
Ok, one more time with greater volume for those in the back: The HR department at your company is *not* there for YOU, they are there to help protect the company FROM you for its own bad behavior.
I actually know of an illegal policy at my job. They have it on there if you quit without 2 weeks notice the company will withhold your last pay cheque. That's against labour laws in my region. They have to pay you for the work you put in, regardless. At least here they do.
That's illegal in the US. A company cannot withhold your paycheck here.
Load More Replies...Americans sure hate unions, though. Endless acknowledgment of rampant abuse by companies, but, "unions are bad." 🙄
We don't hate unions. We hate the corruption and laziness of tenured workers it breeds. Crane operators at the port of L.A. are a perfect example.
Load More Replies...And how did HR even know you were discussing wages? Someone 'turn you in'?
Yep, the OP did say that the HR person mentioned that "discussing wages is making others uncomfortable". Probably someone older who'd been there a long time & wasn't making as much money.
Load More Replies...I notice every office I visited (including my own business,) has employee rights posted, usually in the break room. Must be a CA law or something.
It's a national law, and has been for decades, so employees know their basic rights.
Load More Replies...Either BP can't get enough of ranting about how miserable American businesses treat their employees or American businesses really treat their employees like shït and the stories are just to prove the animosity between American employers and their employees. If it's the latter I would like to express my deepest sympathy and sorrow to the Americans for the fact that a major part of your life is made a hell by controlling diabolical POS.
It is the latter my friend. I think most Americans wouldn't piss in their boss's face if it would save them from dying of thirst! I know I wouldn't stop to help my boss if I saw him getting beat to crap on the side of road. I might pull over and cheer them on though.
Load More Replies...When I am a nurse, the management violated everything and never have any problem. Sad reality of living in my country. I believe they have been reported many times but never see any penalty. They just bribed the govt guy regularly.. The boss is also spend money equal to 40 times my salary once for a shaman, which never work.. She just do that twice in a few year period.
I’d be very cautious. I filed a police for an assault by a patient at work. These happened continually and management would do nothing. I was warned not to file the report or pursue charges. After I filed the report, all my charts were audited. Every little mistake or mischarted item was noted. Next, I was suspended and accused of an act that put my license in jeopardy. Very nasty situation. All because I was tired of being beat up by patients at work.
Years ago I took a job with a mining company at a field office in my state. No one mentioned we got paid once a month so I got used to speaking up pretty quick. It was a new office so raises for all 5 employees came around at the same time. Except me. (I was 100% Office Staff.) So I asked my boss what was wrong with my work. Nothing. Well, everyone else got raises but I didn't; I was wondering why I was left out. "Do you think you should get a raise every time everyone else does?" Absolutely. And I did. Being the Office Staff I always knew what percent everyone got. It was nice.
The only employers who frown on discussing pay are the ones who know they are up to no good.
OP was not a "team player" or "part of the family" (two red flags for sure) so HR had to step in. LOL!
This is different in the UK, where it is definitely discouraged from sharing this sort of information. Although that may have changed in recent years, it used to be MYOB.
Here we have better labour laws but no enforcement unless you stand up for yourself, so tons of small businesses are completely ignorant of the law (or pretend to be)
I was going to fire someone for talking about wages, but it wasn't what you think. She noticed a manager had left himself logged into a computer and took it upon herself to look up what everyone made including the manager and then go around and talk to everyone about it. What was going to get her fired was accessing company documents she has no authorization to access. She was also stealing as well.
It may be legal to discuss wages with fellow employees, but I've found out the hard way that it's usually not a good idea. Right before the raises, we were told that they would be anywhere from 10¢ to $1.00 an hour, depending on our level of work. At the time, I worked with a couple of friends - at least I THOUGT they were my friends...they excitedly ran up to me and asked "Did you get the TOP raise, TOO?" I assumed they'd also gotten a dollar, so I smiled and said yes. BAM! That was the end of the friendship, because they'd each only gotten the dime raise. They started making life miserable for me, and I, in turn, got cocky right back with them. My boss pulled me aside to ask what happened...he said "You all used to be friends...what happened?" I told him "They tricked me into admitting what my raise was, now they're jealous and angry because I'm not a slacker like they've always been." He groaned, and said "You NEVER tell anyone what you make!" No schiff...lesson learned!
The lesson learned shouldn't be "don't discuss wages" but instead "keep your personal and business life separate". I know you want to be friendly with co-workers and it's natural to do so but money and friendships don't tend to mix well. And anyways, YOU didn't do anything wrong there - if those other people were smart in any way, shape, or form, they'd have used that information to either negotiate themselves a higher raise or figured out how to improve their work to have made themselves worth that same amount, as well. What a bunch of jerks that they decided to be scornful towards you instead of being introspective and wondering why their work wasn't valued as highly as yours. I think you're better off without those kinds of people as friends, as much as it may suck. If they were true friends, they'd have been happy for you and would have kept any pay disputes between them and your boss(es) instead of viewing you as some sort of enemy for making more.
Load More Replies...When I worked retail in was on a multi-site. 6 different stores owned by the same company. I always talked about pay, talked about pay so much that staff from one of the other stores started to realise they were being ripped off by their manager. There were on the wrong rate, weren't getting their yearly increments, weren't getting correct bank holiday pay, you name it they were being screwed on it. By the time I left, that particular store paid out about €150,000 in lost wages.
In the UK it is legal for your employment contract to ban you from discussing your wages at work. But they cannot prevent you discussing your wages outside of work.
Really? I find that hard to believe, we b***h about our wages all the time
Load More Replies...It can be disastrous. A lot of people get jealous when they realize someone else is getting paid more than them and this causes problems. I think it's a great policy not to discuss wages. I learned long ago when I was a young man that people get envious and they start treating you differently simply because of how much or how little you get paid.
and we have found that silence means wage disparities persist. if YOU don't want to talk, don't. But everyone else is moving towards transparency, and you'll look like a dinosaur hoarding and siloing in your corner office. and again, THAT POLICY IS ILLEGAL AND UNENFORCEABLE in most private US companies.
Load More Replies...
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