New York (Washington Insider Magazine) — Most workers want to know if they can get fired for discussing their salary. The answer is no, but it can get a little complicated if an employee has signed a salary non-disclosure agreement with the company at the time of their hiring. The employer can’t fire you if you discuss your pay scale directly, but they might fire you for an indirect reason. No law states that an employee can get fired for discussing their salary. Let’s dig into more details about this topic.
What Is The Etiquette Around Speaking Discussing Pay?
In a workplace that lacks salary/wage transparency, it is about to consider when you discuss your pay. You may not be fired directly but you will still make your teammates uncomfortable. If someone tells you their salary, it is best to keep this information private. The employees’ right to discuss their salary with their coworkers is not prohibited by the law.
If you discuss your salary with someone that doesn’t mean that other employees working in the rest of the organization should know about your salary as well. You should avoid talking about salary ranges in front of clients and customers as this is unprofessional behavior. You may not get fired for this directly, but it will make you look bad in front of your managers and employers. If your employer notices, you talking about your salary this might affect their decision while planning your future wages.
Can You Be Fired for Discussing Salary?
A person working at a company often has a fixed income. An employer pays the same amount of money to the employees despite how many hours they work. According to employment laws employees that receive a fixed amount of money, also receive benefits like health insurance and retirement plans.
The annual salary of an employee determines how much they earn per week. It often becomes a status symbol for most employees. You cannot get fired for discussing your pay with someone. US Executive Order 11246 has stated that the employees have the legal right to discuss and share their salary amount. They also have the right to ask other employees about how much they earn and discuss compensation details as well. They cannot be fired or disciplined for doing so.
However, the rules can be different in private sector where you have signed a salary non-disclosure agreement. If you did not sign an agreement, then you can be reprimanded in other ways. The employee might fire you for a different reason entirely. If you get in the bad books of the employee, he might accuse you of being disrespectful and fire you for an indirect reason.
If the employee has been bragging about their salary and discussing collective bargaining, then the employer might find this annoying. It is illegal for employers to fire workers for discussing their salary or wages at work. The employer cannot retaliate or threaten you. You also cannot get demoted or suspended for this reason.
The NLRA Protects The Employees Right To Discuss Their Salary
According to the labor relations act NLRA an employee has the right to discuss their salary at work.
- In 1935, Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and protected the rights of the workers. An executive order was made that states the employees that work for a business or company can discuss their wages or salary.
- According to the labor relations board NLRB employers cannot limit employees to carry on with their activities at work. In other words, the employees can discuss their work conditions freely. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), has ruled this out in several cases:
- 1980: The NLRB has ruled out that employers cannot prohibit employees from discussing salaries at work. The labor law allows employees to have freedom of speech. If the discussion doesn’t substantially interfere with their organizational efforts there, seems to be no problem.
- 1989: The NLRB stated that the employee who has come across confidential pay information must not share the information with the fellow employees
- 2003: A company was found violating NLRA when it did not rehire two men because they had discussed their wages with coworkers
- 2011: An employer fired a worker who discussed the merit pay increases after he had prohibited the employees from discussing any increase in the pay rate.
Although the NLRA allows employees to discuss their work conditions such as pay, benefits, and workplace safety freely it does not claim to protect the malicious or reckless behavior. If an employee posts confidential trade secrets about a company on social media, he/she could be punished for it. This act is a violation of company policy, and the employee could face disciplinary action. An investigation could also be carried out if the employee is caught in the act.
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What Are Pay Secrecy Policies?
Pay secrecy policies, are called pay or salary confidentiality rules. They are also called the “black box” compensation systems that prohibit employees from discussing their salaries with other employees. No law prohibits employees from discussing salaries with other employees. Employers often claim that pay secrecy is a must as this helps with the “morale” or “control” finances. More often pay secrecy policies can be sued to hide wage gaps.
Because of this, some laws have been passed that provide employees with all the right to discuss their wages. Your employer has no right to prohibit you from sharing the amount of salary you receive from the company.
The employees cannot get fired for discussing their salary or asking about the salary of another employee. If the employer tells you to keep your wages secret, then they are breaking the law. The employer doesn’t have the authority to influence your discussion with another employee in the company.
Federal law also protects the employee’s right to discuss their wages. The NLRB has found that the pay secrecy policies have violated employees’ freedom of speech. The employees have the right to organize and discuss working conditions including their salary details.
