Related Posts
Conversation Starter
More Posts
Chief
Multiple positions open in IBM. DM me
Additional Posts in Salary Negotiations
Any fellow overnight security guards in here
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Are you in the US? Look up the protections under the National Labor Relations Act. Companies cannot stop (most) employees from talking about their own pay. Some states have laws that extend that protection to everyone (Colorado's recent equal pay act, for example). The law does not allow for a third party (e.g. payroll or HR) to share your wages with someone else or vice versa.
This comment is wonderful. Thank you for letting me know what this is called so I can bring it to my co-workers' attention whom were told they could not talk about what they're paid.
Mentor
It is not illegal, it’s just taboo (in the US). It only benefits the company not to discuss pay.
I am a big believer in pay transparency and am happy to share my compensation in most situations. I think it’s actually really important to do so, especially in my industry where someone with the same title, in the same location, could be making wildly different salaries.
At a last job, I had a creative partner. We had the same title and did the same exact level/quantity of work. I’d argue, she was even better than me. We found out that she was making over 40K less than me. At the same company, in the same office. If we hadn’t talked about it, she wouldn’t have been able to fight to solve the problem. The company would have done nothing if she hadn’t raised the alarm.
Thank you so so much!!! I feel as companies want staff members to avoid discussing these things because they want to control who they pay what too lol but it’s not fair to give someone 5+ years and then a HS graduate with no experience comes in with what you’re currently making and i had to work for that $2 raise. I get different times and now in ILLINOIS the minimum wage is going up but i feel so should everyone else’s pay
These companies want people to be clueless to whats happening. I recently got a new job offer and found someone on fishbowl that also got a job offer from the same company for the same title. If we didnt exchange info I wouldnt have had all the info I needed to produce the best counteroffer. So I say exchange info w/ your coworkers
Thank you for your response !
Companies overtime, take their long term employees for granted. So, the best ways to have the highest salary possible are:
1. Negotiate the strongest offer possible before starting a new job.
2. Once in seat, start looking for a new opportunity outside the company...basically, change companies every 2 years if you can.
I learned the hard way.
Seems like i will be learning the hard way too 😔
Generally, wouldnt want staff to discuss their remuneration with one another, but won't stop them if they want to. Happy to assist the staff member to work out what needs to be done to increase their wages, if it is below anothers.
I agree I would leave go to another company gain
more experience and if you decide to come back or move on be sure to negotiate every time.
It’s not legal for an employer to tell employees to not disclose wages to each other
ALWAYS discuss your pay. ALWAYS. It’s the only way anyone gets paid even close to what they’re worth or understand if they are being paid less for nefarious reasons.
They used to tell ppl not to discuss it under the guise of "professionalism". And while it's not illegal for individuals to discuss their compensation in the US, A LOT of managers still hold that expectation.
I had a similar conversation with another manager (a woman) and she asked how to get ppl not to discuss it because it's not professional. I was floored because statistically she's likely underpaid and yet she was clinging to some stupid outdated belief that has nothing to do with the standard she described.
Said that to say, ppl work against their own best interest often.
Mentor
From an HR perspective, compensation is personal information (PI vs PHI) so it is confidential information.
My co had us sign a doc saying we could only discuss our pay with our immediate family and any professionals employed by me to handle my financial transactions. I thought that was a bit archaic for new startup.
It’s actually illegal under federal law to tell staff they can’t discuss their pay. I had to do some research on this myself a few weeks ago.
Actually in the States it is illegal to keep employees from discussing pay, I believe it is the fair labor act of 1939.
Mentor
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law
Mentor
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ofccp/regs/compliance/factsheets/FACT_PayTransparency-Sept16_ENGESQA508c.pdf
It can be illegal as a matter of federal law under the NLRA, depending on your position.
Pay is not confidential. If your workplace is making a pay band a secret it’s because there’s inequality in wages. People should be aware of what others are making in their role and negotiate better salaries.
From the National Labor Relations Act:
Employees have the right to communicate with other employees at their workplace about their wages. You have these rights whether or not you are represented by a union.
I know this because I was speaking with a male colleague who is the same title as me, with the same years of experience, except I had started several months before him. We were joking about “not getting paid enough for this” (typical) and started discussing salaries. He makes $15,000 more than I do. I brought it up to my bosses and HR and while they were all pissed we talked about it, they can’t do anything but slap my wrist and (hopefully) give me the raise I deserve.
Wait really? I ended up with the reasoning that “when he was hired we had more budget and you’ll be considered for a raise during your annual review.” But if I could get the law to speed that up, I would.
No it is not! It’s actually against federal law to prevent your employees from discussing wage
that is illegal
It is illegal. This is considered protected concerted activity under the NLRA. Your employer is committing an unfair labor practice. They can always say they discourage it but they cannot verbally or in writing forbid it.
You should talk about your pay. If they told you not to that’s fishy