Unbelievable - conversing about wages is strictly forbidden

Tish

Tish

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Rural N.S.W. Australia
Is this even legal?

A brutal note left by a business owner has threatened to sack employees if they speak about their wages.
The message, which was circulated online, was taped to a tea room wall by a gym manager in Kentucky, US, on Thursday.

“Attention all subordinates,” it begins.
“Effective immediately, conversing about wages (both on duty and off duty) is strictly forbidden. This is considered proprietary information and as such, it is protected legally.

“If you are overheard speaking (OR LISTENING TO!!) a conversation in which wages are discussed, you will receive disciplinary action up to and including termination.”

The message went viral after being posted on Reddit’s anti-work subreddit.

Erik, the man who took the photo of the note, said he posted the photo as he did not know whether what his boss was threatening was legal.

He told Newsweek he has been working at the gym for about six months, making $10.50 per hour.

Recently, the establishment was understaffed and the general manager started hiring new employees at a rate of 50 cents more per hour, according to Erick.

Full Story
 

oldpop said:
There was a time when I would have been concerned about such things but these days nothing surprises me. Fairness and justice are dust in the wind. I try to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. At some point if not already when you call for help no one will come.
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And so totalitarianism spreads. If the employees defied this en masse it might help. This kind of abuse only works if we allow it to.
 

I doubt whether any employer can control/dictate what employees talk about, especially away from the workplace.
Especially asinine: "If you are overheard speaking (OR LISTENING TO!!) a conversation in which wages are discussed, you will receive disciplinary action up to and including termination.”
How can anyone avoid overhearing a conversation?

I did work in one place where the owner would hand the paychecks to one person in unsealed envelopes & she would pass them out after looking at each check. I know she looked at them because I walked into her office to ask for my check & saw her looking at it, then she just handed it to me out of the envelope. I mentioned to the owner that it wasn't a good idea, but she blew me off.
Later, I heard screaming & yelling coming from her office - through the closed door. I couldn't hear every word, but I did hear, "I've been working here much longer than she has & you're paying her more."
I had to chuckle - along with 5 other employees who were also listening.
 
Tish said:
Is this even legal?

A brutal note left by a business owner has threatened to sack employees if they speak about their wages.
The message, which was circulated online, was taped to a tea room wall by a gym manager in Kentucky, US, on Thursday.

“Attention all subordinates,” it begins.
“Effective immediately, conversing about wages (both on duty and off duty) is strictly forbidden. This is considered proprietary information and as such, it is protected legally.

“If you are overheard speaking (OR LISTENING TO!!) a conversation in which wages are discussed, you will receive disciplinary action up to and including termination.”

Full Story
Click to expand...
I think the employer has it wrong. Employees are discouraged from ASKING other employees how much they earn. And it's a company policy, not a law. If a couple of employees got terminated for voluntarily telling each other how much they earn, they could file a complaint for wrongful termination and probably get their jobs back plus back-pay.
 
Tish said:
Is this even legal?
Click to expand...
If it's a private company it probably is. Maybe stupid, but legal.

In the US a private employer can make rules and hire and fire for almost any reason. Rationality has nothing to do with it, except that businesses that make bad decisions often go out of business. The exceptions have to do with discrimination and of course what actions are taken against violators. But firing is one thing they are free to do, so long as it is not discrimination (racial, religious, sexual one of the protected things) and does not violate any contract they have with the employees.

You can't fire someone for their race or religion, but you can for wearing a red shirt if you want.
 
Alligatorob said:
I stand corrected, it appears you are right. I looked at the link and it does seem to apply to most businesses and employees, there are a few exceptions, such as small businesses.
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IMHO, "small" businesses are one of the worst offenders. Of course, some of that is driven by them having to compete with the larger firms who have benefit packages, etc. If one of their employees finds a large firm in the area paying better wages with benefits... and the employees begin conversing between themselves about current wages... the small business could suffer a mass exodus to the larger firm. And, the small business may be "suffering" from nepotism. Pay for a nephew who in no way earns his keep is paid higher than the "off the street" worker who had excellent work ethic.

All kinds of "what if's". Bottom line is the U.S. has one of the lowest number of unemployment claims in recent history. Jobs are out there and businesses are needing to fill those jobs. It affects the bottom line if they have to pay higher wages. When the employees begin communicating amongst themselves about wage rates, it can bode ill will amongst the staff until all are paid a higher rate... whether they earn it or not. That gets into an entire separate subject... work ethic in today's workforce.
 
this has become an issue since in the tight labor market places have been hiring help at higher wages but staff there may not be making that much .... this was true when i worked at a store because often they would hire men at a higher wage ..... this policy never works it often backfires badly in my experience
 
Tish said:
Is this even legal?

A brutal note left by a business owner has threatened to sack employees if they speak about their wages.
The message, which was circulated online, was taped to a tea room wall by a gym manager in Kentucky, US, on Thursday.

“Attention all subordinates,” it begins.
“Effective immediately, conversing about wages (both on duty and off duty) is strictly forbidden. This is considered proprietary information and as such, it is protected legally.

“If you are overheard speaking (OR LISTENING TO!!) a conversation in which wages are discussed, you will receive disciplinary action up to and including termination.”

The message went viral after being posted on Reddit’s anti-work subreddit.

Erik, the man who took the photo of the note, said he posted the photo as he did not know whether what his boss was threatening was legal.

He told Newsweek he has been working at the gym for about six months, making $10.50 per hour.

Recently, the establishment was understaffed and the general manager started hiring new employees at a rate of 50 cents more per hour, according to Erick.

Full Story
Click to expand...

I checked and found this website from AU. It is about a 4 minute read and starts with :

"In Australia, you can direct your employees to not disclose their salary. This is known as ‘pay secrecy.’


Employees are often prohibited from discussing their salary and remuneration through pay secrecy clauses in their employment contract. Pay secrecy clauses are particularly common in industries that offer bonuses or discretionary incentives. Some businesses use these clauses to differentiate pay amongst employees.


So, pay secrecy exists and it is perfectly legal. But is it the best option for your business and employees?


Pay secrecy clauses reduce employee bargaining power and often result in economic disadvantage. Pay secrecy is also known to significantly extend the gender pay gap.


So, if you’re considering incorporating pay secrecy clauses into your employee contracts, it’s important to wrap your head around exactly what a pay secrecy clause is and how it functions.


Read on to make an informed decision about pay secrecy and whether you should incorporate it into your business."

https://sprintlaw.com.au/articles/is-pay-secrecy-legal/
 
Additionally, it is unlawful for the employer to have a work rule, policy, or hiring agreement that prohibits employees from discussing their wages with each other or that requires you to get the employer’s permission to have such discussions. If your employer does any of these things, a charge may be filed against the employer with the NLRB.
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rig...ve the right,way for having that conversation

That's news to me.
 
Let me tell you about my last job. I thought I had retired, but I decided to get a job at a small bank as part time lunch relief, in Georgia, in 1998.

I was hired to work four hours a day for $8/hr. Frist day on the job and I was told there had been a mistake, because it was part-time I would only get $5/hr. Seeing my jaw drop he said it was okay, I would love working there, they had a great picnic every summer.

One day, a while later, the other tellers were talking about pooling their money for a gift and I said, you guys don't understand, I only make $20 a day. There was a hush and then they all told me we weren't allowed to say how much we made. I said, "Are you kidding? It's my money, I MAKE 20 DOLLARS A DAY!"

Next, I overheard the manager and the loan officer say they would never grant a loan to a black person. In 1998! I looked up and said, "You know that's against the law," and He replied, "No one in Washington is going to tell us what to do."

Shortly thereafter one of the 19 year-old pageant girls decided she wanted to go to part time, asked the manager if she could have my job and he said yes. I was glad.
 
Murrmurr said:
I think the employer has it wrong. Employees are discouraged from ASKING other employees how much they earn. And it's a company policy, not a law. If a couple of employees got terminated for voluntarily telling each other how much they earn, they could file a complaint for wrongful termination and probably get their jobs back plus back-pay.
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I like your idea but what if it's a fire at will state like California. We have no recourse here. It's one of the reasons large employers hate unions. When I worked two seasons at a cannery, it was union and people paid those union wages with little complaint.
 
SeniorBen has the correct info. I learned that many years ago doing research for my case, especially in the LRRM.
 
Remy said:
I like your idea but what if it's a fire at will state like California. We have no recourse here. It's one of the reasons large employers hate unions. When I worked two seasons at a cannery, it was union and people paid those union wages with little complaint.
Click to expand...
Employees still have rights under federal labor laws. Even in Cali people can't be fired over a conversation they had with a friend. If it's racially charged or obscene, yes. For casual conversation an employer would have to make up cite some other reason that can be supported. Habitual tardiness or something.

In Cali, an employer doesn't have to tell you why you were fired at the time you were fired, but you can get your termination documents through the human resources office or district manager. "Not a good fit for the company" is reasonable cause for termination, but there has to be something on that document that supports their claim.
 

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