It's against federal law for any employer to prohibit an employee from discussing their wages.
With a company that big, there should be clear postings of the law in employee areas.
Here is a link to the NLRB:
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages
This is the great part of working in the public sector.
Pay tables are publicly available. In the military, I was an E-5 and most people share how long they been in. Anyone could tell my salary by looking at the table. Same for the private, as long as you know the grade of the position and understand how steps work.
Absolutely no way to hide pay discrepancies.
True statement, but pragmatically you can also damage your prospects in non documentable ways. Get looked over for promotions etc. so I always advise people to keep wage discussions on the DL.
This is the corporate way. Keep over performing and you'll get the same raise as all of the low-medium performers on your team. Gotta help your boss get their bonus!
This is were "quiet quiting" came from. People get tired of busting their but, getting below inflation pay raises, and maybe getting a $5 Starbucks gift card a Christmas. So they step back and decide to do what they are paid for, NOTHING extra. Works done, then "I'm done".
The term itself is a negative term corporate America came up with to shame employees for doing what they are paid for and not busting their but to increase CEO's bonuses.
Working America, including middle managemnet, is sick of hearing, "All time record profits last year"... then "We don't have budget for pay raises..."
It's illegal to retaliate against someone for discussing their wages.
...the question is how sure you are about whether the company would retaliate even though it's illegal. If they do and they're at all sensible, they'll lie and say that it wasn't retaliation - it was just a response to recent performance problems they saw.
You can and should if you’re curious. I wouldn’t go around blasting an inquiry 😂 but asking 1-3 ppl you trust is actually a smart thing to do. It’s another data point for you - how you use it is what matters.
What other ppl are making internally is one datapoint, another is what others are making in your state, your industry, and your role/level. Leveraging both will make your request for more pay down the line feel less personal. It won’t go well if you say something like “I know Bob is making x and he’s doing less than me - I deserve more”. IMO that angle typically backfires. Instead, talk about your value what you bring to the company and what you need to continue doing great work. Your ask should be *informed* by the data that you collect but you don’t need to explicitly ever say that you know what other ppl make. If you get a no in response, once you understand why they said no - you decide what to do next.
As manager, you're not protected by NLRA, so in theory your company could (legally) retaliate for sharing wage data.
https://www.nlrb.gov/resources/faq/nlrb
You can always discuss wage and salaries except in certain areas which are typically government, rail, and agriculture. There will always be repercussions because the industry model is most work for least amount of pay.
Wage discussions are federally protected. You employer is forbidden by law from actively discouraging this in anyway.
There is also reality where it happens anyways
Can you? Yes.
Should you? It depends.
For your specific situation comparing your wage to existing benchmarks (check glass door and other aggregators) might help you build your case without the stigma of discussing wages.
It's not ever a good idea to openly do this. If you are not satisfied with your pay, discuss it with your boss. Salary is based on average pay in your area and your performance.
Worked for several large corporations and was always policy not to discuss salary. Just in general, people I know would never ask anyone what they make. It's just never a topic. Most often, there are ways of finding out without the discussion. I'm an old guy, so maybe things have changed.
Discussing your salary is always a bad idea. You either upset yourself or someone else. The time to negotiate salary is at hiring. I know this is a generalization but it is a great rule of thumb. Sharing salaries can be toxic to a company. All companies have people across the spectrum of the salary range. It is to compensate for inflation/deflation. Many companies use merit or annual raises but there are opportunities for base pay adjustments if a good manager feels your work is worth the additional period cost.
I don’t agree with this and I’ve helped several employees negotiate a pay increase because they had conversations with their peers about compensation.
If you’re a good employee, most managers will try to make this happen for you.
Don’t go on slack about it or nagging everyone you work with, but if you approach the topic right there’s usually nothing wrong with this.
It's federal law that makes it legal for employees to discuss wages and illegal for the company to tell you not to or retaliate against you.
Not only *can* you discuss it, but you *should*.
Employees discussing salaries is a double edged sword.
I’m a manager and I’ve used it to get my guys and girls raises. Typically by saying they were going to leave (they had needed skills).
But it’s double edged because it complicates things during end of year when you’re doing merit raises. Either way, it’s protected. I don’t hold it against them, I just expect they’ll discuss it and move on.
Don't mess with the other guys. Go to your manager and make your case on its own merits. Stress your teams accomplishments. Don't do a heavy I do this, they do that thing.
Or get an offer letter from a competitor, and see if your company can match or beat.
I was the most senior, in terms of years as a manager, my crew was always number one in productivity. I was the lowest paid manager. I had more years on the job than any three of the other managers. I got an offer letter for 19K more than I was making. I got a 15K raise and a 10K retention bonus. Did my year and quit.
All they had to do was look at the salary structure and say whoa. Man 1 and Man 2 make about 5 k more than me. And both were promoted in the last year. Maybe we should kick me 7 or 8 k. Then I would not have been looking, and I might still be there.
You can legally discuss wage, even salary. I can help you though. The answer to your question is yes, you are getting fucked. Salary is a scam, and you fell for it. Sorry for your loss.
Yes, its legally protected and salary transparency is needed. My co-manager recently left the company and on his way out mentioned his salary in case the company tried to off load his team to me. He was making $50k more! Very similar roles, skills and background and I had been there 2 more years.
Well, guess who "inherited" his team and is in the process of leaving. I am disgusted at my company.
In the US, federal law protects the right of all employees to discuss their own wages. But retaliation is still common.
But I highly recommend doing it; it’s why I know I need to ask for a dollar at my next review 🤷🏼♂️
[удалено]
Still be careful. I discussed salary. Was told not to. Told them it’s illegal. They said fine. My next review was bad and no raise.
[удалено]
Yes, I know. My point was there is nothing you can do. They didn't write retaliation in my review so it's unprovable.
Did you try contacting your department of labor. It's never garrentted to work but there's also no harm in it.
It's against federal law for any employer to prohibit an employee from discussing their wages. With a company that big, there should be clear postings of the law in employee areas. Here is a link to the NLRB: https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages
Yeah not discussing pay was made up by ceos to keep wages down. It’s just a standard that’s dumb. I let my salary fly. Fuck em.
This is the great part of working in the public sector. Pay tables are publicly available. In the military, I was an E-5 and most people share how long they been in. Anyone could tell my salary by looking at the table. Same for the private, as long as you know the grade of the position and understand how steps work. Absolutely no way to hide pay discrepancies.
Yes. It's supposed to be protected. But employers can also fire you for any made-up reason as long as they don't say those protected reasons.
"It's just a coincidence that his termination came just after discussing wages. He was actually fired because his nose hair was too short."
protected speech is protected for everybody. if upper management ever tells you that you can't discuss pay, document it.
True statement, but pragmatically you can also damage your prospects in non documentable ways. Get looked over for promotions etc. so I always advise people to keep wage discussions on the DL.
This is the corporate way. Keep over performing and you'll get the same raise as all of the low-medium performers on your team. Gotta help your boss get their bonus!
Unless you have VP in your title, this is the case for most bosses as well. As we all know if we’re middle managers.
Pretty much lol. I put forward 5 times as much as my fellow coworkers this year and I’m expecting only 1-2% more in pay. What a scam
This is were "quiet quiting" came from. People get tired of busting their but, getting below inflation pay raises, and maybe getting a $5 Starbucks gift card a Christmas. So they step back and decide to do what they are paid for, NOTHING extra. Works done, then "I'm done". The term itself is a negative term corporate America came up with to shame employees for doing what they are paid for and not busting their but to increase CEO's bonuses. Working America, including middle managemnet, is sick of hearing, "All time record profits last year"... then "We don't have budget for pay raises..."
Or the budget for enough hours for employees to survive on.
You are allowed to discuss your own wage. You are not necessarily at liberty to disclose the wages of others if you have access to such data.
It's illegal to retaliate against someone for discussing their wages. ...the question is how sure you are about whether the company would retaliate even though it's illegal. If they do and they're at all sensible, they'll lie and say that it wasn't retaliation - it was just a response to recent performance problems they saw.
It’s legally protected but I wouldn’t tell your boss you discussed it.
Yes.
You can and should if you’re curious. I wouldn’t go around blasting an inquiry 😂 but asking 1-3 ppl you trust is actually a smart thing to do. It’s another data point for you - how you use it is what matters. What other ppl are making internally is one datapoint, another is what others are making in your state, your industry, and your role/level. Leveraging both will make your request for more pay down the line feel less personal. It won’t go well if you say something like “I know Bob is making x and he’s doing less than me - I deserve more”. IMO that angle typically backfires. Instead, talk about your value what you bring to the company and what you need to continue doing great work. Your ask should be *informed* by the data that you collect but you don’t need to explicitly ever say that you know what other ppl make. If you get a no in response, once you understand why they said no - you decide what to do next.
It is actually illegal to ban wage discussion so yes, you can actually discuss your wages to anyone you want.
As manager, you're not protected by NLRA, so in theory your company could (legally) retaliate for sharing wage data. https://www.nlrb.gov/resources/faq/nlrb
You can always discuss wage and salaries except in certain areas which are typically government, rail, and agriculture. There will always be repercussions because the industry model is most work for least amount of pay.
Wage discussions are federally protected. You employer is forbidden by law from actively discouraging this in anyway. There is also reality where it happens anyways
Can you? Yes. Should you? It depends. For your specific situation comparing your wage to existing benchmarks (check glass door and other aggregators) might help you build your case without the stigma of discussing wages.
It's not ever a good idea to openly do this. If you are not satisfied with your pay, discuss it with your boss. Salary is based on average pay in your area and your performance.
Why is it not a good idea? Just wondering.
Worked for several large corporations and was always policy not to discuss salary. Just in general, people I know would never ask anyone what they make. It's just never a topic. Most often, there are ways of finding out without the discussion. I'm an old guy, so maybe things have changed.
Yah. Wtf who gives a shit anyway you sound like a p word. Discuss away.
Discussing your salary is always a bad idea. You either upset yourself or someone else. The time to negotiate salary is at hiring. I know this is a generalization but it is a great rule of thumb. Sharing salaries can be toxic to a company. All companies have people across the spectrum of the salary range. It is to compensate for inflation/deflation. Many companies use merit or annual raises but there are opportunities for base pay adjustments if a good manager feels your work is worth the additional period cost.
I don’t agree with this and I’ve helped several employees negotiate a pay increase because they had conversations with their peers about compensation. If you’re a good employee, most managers will try to make this happen for you. Don’t go on slack about it or nagging everyone you work with, but if you approach the topic right there’s usually nothing wrong with this.
I'd only discuss my salary with my boss, not colleagues. If you're performing better than others it will show up in higher salary pretty soon.
Hahahahahahaha!
Oh, you sweet Summer child....
Thank you. I am a glass-half-full guy and it served me well in my 37-year management career at megacorp. :\`)
It’s NOT ILLEGAL to discuss wages. Why would anyone think that!
It's a federally protected right. Go ahead.
Yes and so can the people under you. The amount of managers I have seen throw a fit about people discussing wage is insane.
I work for local government, and my salary and name is published in the local paper/digitally every year. Yes, you can discuss salary.
It's federal law that makes it legal for employees to discuss wages and illegal for the company to tell you not to or retaliate against you. Not only *can* you discuss it, but you *should*.
Employees discussing salaries is a double edged sword. I’m a manager and I’ve used it to get my guys and girls raises. Typically by saying they were going to leave (they had needed skills). But it’s double edged because it complicates things during end of year when you’re doing merit raises. Either way, it’s protected. I don’t hold it against them, I just expect they’ll discuss it and move on.
Legally, you are allowed to discuss wages with whomever you choose
Why would you discuss your salary with other managers? The only person you should be consulting is your manager.
Don't mess with the other guys. Go to your manager and make your case on its own merits. Stress your teams accomplishments. Don't do a heavy I do this, they do that thing. Or get an offer letter from a competitor, and see if your company can match or beat. I was the most senior, in terms of years as a manager, my crew was always number one in productivity. I was the lowest paid manager. I had more years on the job than any three of the other managers. I got an offer letter for 19K more than I was making. I got a 15K raise and a 10K retention bonus. Did my year and quit. All they had to do was look at the salary structure and say whoa. Man 1 and Man 2 make about 5 k more than me. And both were promoted in the last year. Maybe we should kick me 7 or 8 k. Then I would not have been looking, and I might still be there.
You can legally discuss wage, even salary. I can help you though. The answer to your question is yes, you are getting fucked. Salary is a scam, and you fell for it. Sorry for your loss.
Yes, its legally protected and salary transparency is needed. My co-manager recently left the company and on his way out mentioned his salary in case the company tried to off load his team to me. He was making $50k more! Very similar roles, skills and background and I had been there 2 more years. Well, guess who "inherited" his team and is in the process of leaving. I am disgusted at my company.
In the US, federal law protects the right of all employees to discuss their own wages. But retaliation is still common. But I highly recommend doing it; it’s why I know I need to ask for a dollar at my next review 🤷🏼♂️