Modern businesses tend to include numerous restrictions in their employment contracts for the protection of their companies. They may require that workers maintain the company’s confidentiality regarding trade secrets and business practices. They may require that workers avoid talking about the company on social media.
In some cases, training materials or employee handbooks include company policies that forbid workers from discussing the pay that they receive or the benefits the employer provides. That restriction on disclosure may apply to co-workers or the general public.
Can employers punish workers who do not comply with wage disclosure restrictions?
The law protects wage disclosures
Workers attempting to organize need to discuss their circumstances. Wages and benefits are key considerations when workers attempt to unionize or prove that their employers may not have treated them fairly as required by the law.
Discussions about wages could reveal that female workers consistently make less than their male coworkers or that employees with a specific racial background don’t receive the same compensation as other team members. To ensure that workers receive fair treatment, the law protects their right to discuss their wages and other details about their employment.
Employers may include rules against wage disclosure in training materials and handbooks to deter these conversations. However, they cannot enforce those rules by punishing workers who attempt to discuss their wages and organize with one another.
In scenarios where professionals lose their jobs for disclosing their salaries or benefit packages to one another, they may have experienced wrongful termination. Reviewing what happened before and during the termination process with a skilled legal team can help employees validate their suspicions of retaliation and hold their employers accountable accordingly.