4 ms·

> You can talk about your salary with anyone you want, discuss it with your colleagues For all the other just absurd lack of rights employees have in the US, t

> You can talk about your salary with anyone you want, discuss it with your colleagues For all the other just absurd lack of rights employees have in the US, that at least is one that employees do have. Companies are legally _not allowed_ to stop you from discussing your salary with coworkers, or punish you in any way for you having done so.

TheRealPomax 3y ago
Actually, if you're not unionized companies are 100% allowed to fire you for whatever reason they like, such as talking about your salary, as long as the underlying reason does not run afoul of anti-discrimination law (which discussing salary won't) and they pay you full severance due to it being a "termination without cause".
- ddq 3y ago
  https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages# https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-right...
  - jehb 3y ago
    "We're not firing you for discussing your wages, we're firing you for leaking proprietary individual labor budget information with unauthorized employees."
  - TheRealPomax 3y ago
    That's the best part! They don't have to fire you with a reason, at-will employment means they can just fire you and you're going to have to prove in court it could only have been because you were talking about your salary. Good luck! You just show up to the office, your fob doesn't work, and security walks out to inform you that you don't work here anymore and to expect an email from HR. (Will a good company do this? No. Could they if they wanted to, and totally get away with it? You bet!)
    - ddq 3y ago
      "Companies are 100% allowed to" break the National Labor Relations Act because you have moved the goalposts to having to win in court? I don't believe you were previously aware of the NLRA or have any legal insight of value.
      - TheRealPomax 3y ago
        You seem to not understand how this plays out in the real world, rather than some idealised "merely by existing, laws prevent companies from breaking the law". - Your company is most certainly not allowed to break the NLRA. No company is. - But your company can terminate your employment without cause whenever they like, as long as it's not over something that breaks the law, and as long as they pay the associated full severance. - You talk about your salary. And given the vast majority of jobs aren't "my employer's so great, I get paid so well" but "there is so much inequality, let's talk about salaries so we can see how deep the rot goes", it's not going to be in a positive light. - A short while later (definitely not immediately, your company's not a nice company, and it's going to take some time to make sure it has anything on you that they can legally fire you over that doesn't violate the NLBA) your company fires you, without reason, but with full severance. - You challenge them to provide a reason - Their lawyers point out they are under no obligation to provide you with a reason because they are complying with "termination without cause" legislation, and that if you think your dismissal was in violation of the law, you take it to court. Now you have a problem, because now you're going to have to take them to court and prove that they only reason they could have fired you is because you talked about your salary. Can you afford that court case or is it cheaper to take the severance? We're not talking about a happy happy justice "laws work" world, we're talking about the real world, and specifically the real, nasty, world of shit paying US companies, where you aren't a valuable employee but are a disposable asset to be replaced by a cheaper alternative the moment you give them reason to do so, whether that reason is legal or not, because they know you can't afford the challenge, and they know they just need any reason for you to make the case that it was more likely because you talked about salaries than anything else.
- maxerickson 3y ago
  They have to fire you under some other pretext (decided to eliminate the position is fine), if they state that you were fired for discussing wages, it's actionable (well, assuming the NLRB governs that job anyway).

TheRealPomax 3y ago

Actually, if you're not unionized companies are 100% allowed to fire you for whatever reason they like, such as talking about your salary, as long as the underlying reason does not run afoul of anti-discrimination law (which discussing salary won't) and they pay you full severance due to it being a "termination without cause".

ddq 3y ago
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages# https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-right...
- jehb 3y ago
  "We're not firing you for discussing your wages, we're firing you for leaking proprietary individual labor budget information with unauthorized employees."
- TheRealPomax 3y ago
  That's the best part! They don't have to fire you with a reason, at-will employment means they can just fire you and you're going to have to prove in court it could only have been because you were talking about your salary. Good luck! You just show up to the office, your fob doesn't work, and security walks out to inform you that you don't work here anymore and to expect an email from HR. (Will a good company do this? No. Could they if they wanted to, and totally get away with it? You bet!)
  - ddq 3y ago
    "Companies are 100% allowed to" break the National Labor Relations Act because you have moved the goalposts to having to win in court? I don't believe you were previously aware of the NLRA or have any legal insight of value.
    - TheRealPomax 3y ago
      You seem to not understand how this plays out in the real world, rather than some idealised "merely by existing, laws prevent companies from breaking the law". - Your company is most certainly not allowed to break the NLRA. No company is. - But your company can terminate your employment without cause whenever they like, as long as it's not over something that breaks the law, and as long as they pay the associated full severance. - You talk about your salary. And given the vast majority of jobs aren't "my employer's so great, I get paid so well" but "there is so much inequality, let's talk about salaries so we can see how deep the rot goes", it's not going to be in a positive light. - A short while later (definitely not immediately, your company's not a nice company, and it's going to take some time to make sure it has anything on you that they can legally fire you over that doesn't violate the NLBA) your company fires you, without reason, but with full severance. - You challenge them to provide a reason - Their lawyers point out they are under no obligation to provide you with a reason because they are complying with "termination without cause" legislation, and that if you think your dismissal was in violation of the law, you take it to court. Now you have a problem, because now you're going to have to take them to court and prove that they only reason they could have fired you is because you talked about your salary. Can you afford that court case or is it cheaper to take the severance? We're not talking about a happy happy justice "laws work" world, we're talking about the real world, and specifically the real, nasty, world of shit paying US companies, where you aren't a valuable employee but are a disposable asset to be replaced by a cheaper alternative the moment you give them reason to do so, whether that reason is legal or not, because they know you can't afford the challenge, and they know they just need any reason for you to make the case that it was more likely because you talked about salaries than anything else.
maxerickson 3y ago
They have to fire you under some other pretext (decided to eliminate the position is fine), if they state that you were fired for discussing wages, it's actionable (well, assuming the NLRB governs that job anyway).