Whether or not you're comfortable with disclosing your salary or talking about money with your colleagues, a new petition before Congress would make it mandatory for employers to disclose a salary range for all public and private posted positions.

The petition is seeking to create "a level playing field in the negotiation process among all candidates and the employers."

"The potential employer holds all the cards,” says Katie Donovan, a teacher and blogger. “Employers get to ask prospective employees about their salary and credit histories, yet most employers don’t even give the slightest hint of the salary range leaving the applicant at a huge information disadvantage.”

The Salary Disclosure to Promote Equality Act would include:

Requires inclusion of the pay range for all job postings for public and private sector jobs

Removes the requirement for most job candidates to be subject to a credit check

Eliminates the requirement for applicants to share salary history

Prohibits past employers from sharing a previous employee’s salary history

Allow employees within the same company to share salary information without fear of dismissal (Also a component of the 2011 Fair Pay Act.)

According to the National Labor Relations Board, although many employers may discourage their workers from discussing wages, it's actually a violation of the federal law for them to forbid it:

"Employers that routinely include confidentiality language in employment agreements and employee handbooks should ensure that it cannot be interpreted as precluding employees from discussing compensation or other employment terms and conditions with union representatives," Joseph Beachboard, an employment law expert, told Regan Kohler at Staffing Talk.

The new petition may make it easier for jobseekers to discover the true market value of positions they're applying for, but it still might take awhile for workers to disregard the taboo that discussing money in the workplace is like committing career suicide.