4 ms·

Most companies request people not share pay information. Information asymmetry is a huge deal in negotiations.

by Retric 2y ago

dcrazy 2y ago
Such a “requirement” is illegal. 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...
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- skyyler 2y ago
  And pot was illegal in the 70s.
  - jgalt212 2y ago
    It still is.
    - ghaff 2y ago
      At the US federal level. It may or may not be illegal at the state level--and is regulated in any case.
      - jacobr1 2y ago
        It is still illegal in every US state. States can legalize it at the level of their own laws, and they can choose not to enforce federal laws, but that doesn't actually make it legal while federal laws are in place that conflict. A federal agent could choose to walk into any dispensary in a "legal" state and arrest everyone there, and they could be prosecuted in federal court. Yet at a practical level there has been a decision to defer to the states on what they will enforce, but that is a decision of executive authority rather than the law.
        ghaff 2y ago
        I expect you'd have a pretty complicated jurisdictional case if a team of FBI agents were to go into a dispensary in a state where it was legal and round everyone up. And pretty much no sane politician would go anywhere near it. I also wouldn't (hypothetically) travel with the stuff over state boundaries.
vkou 2y ago
They can request it, but can't stop you if you do. You can also request them to do likewise, with similar recourse. A request is nothing without teeth behind it.
- klingoff 2y ago
  Teeth like employment at-will?
  - vkou 2y ago
    It's generally quite unlikely that sharing your salary is going to result in getting bitten by that. You'd need to do labour organization (or be completely surrounded by rats and snitches and other vermin at your workplace, who already have an axe to grind) to actually get blowback for this stuff. Most of the taboo around it is cultural, because people here attach their self-worth to their paycheck. You could also always do it anonymously or pseudonymously. You'd have almost no chances of retaliation in that case.
    - klingoff 2y ago
      https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32216332 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32216332
      - vkou 2y ago
        The singular of anecdote is not data. Getting hit by lightning is also unlikely, but it happens to thousands of people every year. That doesn't mean I'll be flying a kite in a thunderstorm, but it also doesn't mean that you should lock yourself in a bunker the moment the sky turns grey. Most of the taboo around this is cultural, not retributive.
        klingoff 2y ago
        Firing people at will includes firing them because you got the feeling they may be behaving in any way in any situation perhaps in conflict to any request you made. Odds are someone won't get fired for stealing office supplies and in at will place they may be more often fired for misunderstandings related to a misperception where they don't come clean on something they never did. That there was no way to sue the company in that example is a demonstration that the employee lacked any right to break any taboo. As such there are teeth anywhere that is at will for any request whether it is reasonable or not and whether it relates to a taboo the employee may be expected to have or not.
mcherm 2y ago
But in the US, federal labor law makes it illegal for employers to prevent employees from sharing pay information (at least for employees who are entitled to unionize).
ghaff 2y ago
I never have but I have never been told I couldn't share pay information. Certainly I have with my accountant and financial advisor. I've also been asked when applying for a new job whether or not I've been 100% forthcoming.

Most companies request people not share pay information. Information asymmetry is a huge deal in negotiations.

by Retric 2y ago

Most companies request people not share pay information. Information asymmetry is a huge deal in negotiations.

Such a “requirement” is illegal. 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...

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
skyyler 2y ago
And pot was illegal in the 70s.
- jgalt212 2y ago
  It still is.
  - ghaff 2y ago
    At the US federal level. It may or may not be illegal at the state level--and is regulated in any case.
    - jacobr1 2y ago
      It is still illegal in every US state. States can legalize it at the level of their own laws, and they can choose not to enforce federal laws, but that doesn't actually make it legal while federal laws are in place that conflict. A federal agent could choose to walk into any dispensary in a "legal" state and arrest everyone there, and they could be prosecuted in federal court. Yet at a practical level there has been a decision to defer to the states on what they will enforce, but that is a decision of executive authority rather than the law.
      - ghaff 2y ago
        I expect you'd have a pretty complicated jurisdictional case if a team of FBI agents were to go into a dispensary in a state where it was legal and round everyone up. And pretty much no sane politician would go anywhere near it. I also wouldn't (hypothetically) travel with the stuff over state boundaries.

vkou 2y ago

They can request it, but can't stop you if you do. You can also request them to do likewise, with similar recourse. A request is nothing without teeth behind it.

klingoff 2y ago
Teeth like employment at-will?
- vkou 2y ago
  It's generally quite unlikely that sharing your salary is going to result in getting bitten by that. You'd need to do labour organization (or be completely surrounded by rats and snitches and other vermin at your workplace, who already have an axe to grind) to actually get blowback for this stuff. Most of the taboo around it is cultural, because people here attach their self-worth to their paycheck. You could also always do it anonymously or pseudonymously. You'd have almost no chances of retaliation in that case.
  - klingoff 2y ago
    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32216332 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32216332
    - vkou 2y ago
      The singular of anecdote is not data. Getting hit by lightning is also unlikely, but it happens to thousands of people every year. That doesn't mean I'll be flying a kite in a thunderstorm, but it also doesn't mean that you should lock yourself in a bunker the moment the sky turns grey. Most of the taboo around this is cultural, not retributive.
      - klingoff 2y ago
        Firing people at will includes firing them because you got the feeling they may be behaving in any way in any situation perhaps in conflict to any request you made. Odds are someone won't get fired for stealing office supplies and in at will place they may be more often fired for misunderstandings related to a misperception where they don't come clean on something they never did. That there was no way to sue the company in that example is a demonstration that the employee lacked any right to break any taboo. As such there are teeth anywhere that is at will for any request whether it is reasonable or not and whether it relates to a taboo the employee may be expected to have or not.

mcherm 2y ago

But in the US, federal labor law makes it illegal for employers to prevent employees from sharing pay information (at least for employees who are entitled to unionize).

ghaff 2y ago

I never have but I have never been told I couldn't share pay information. Certainly I have with my accountant and financial advisor. I've also been asked when applying for a new job whether or not I've been 100% forthcoming.