As a manager, it's understandable why you wouldn't want your employees discussing their compensation among themselves. Many employment agreements are individually negotiated--some managers pay their better workers more, regardless of their experience with the company, and large differentials in salary may cause morale problems. Despite reservations about employees' tendency to share salary details, federal law expressly prohibits employers from restricting workers from discussing their salaries with one another.

National Labor Relations Act Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act provides employees the right to make efforts to organize and discuss the terms of their employment, including salary and benefits packages. Section 8 of the NLRA further reinforces employees' rights to discuss payment policies by making it an unfair labor practice to enact policies that prohibit employees from discussing their compensation packages or make any other effort to circumvent the organization and discussion rights. Although the NLRA's provisions apply to nearly all employers, Federal and municipal government positions and religious schools are exempt from the law.

Limitations to Section 7 Rights While the Section 7 rights extended to employees have been reaffirmed by numerous court decisions according to the Texas Workforce Commission, employers may limit their employees from discussing their salaries during times when they should be working, although banning conversation specifically about salaries and letting employees discuss other matters while working may be considered a violation of Section 7 rights. Employers can't bar employees from discussing their salaries on their own time. Additionally, employees may not discuss another worker's salary unless that worker shared that information with them; information gleaned from improperly accessing confidential employee records can be barred.

Blogging and Section 7 Rights With workers' increased ability to discuss compensation in a virtual forum such as online message boards or in personally maintained blogs, Section 7 rights still apply. Just as employers can't limit employees from discussing salaries away from the workplace, they must allow them to discuss compensation online. Section 7 rights don't extend to public disparaging of a company's products or service, however, and employees who combine salary discussions with criticism of their employer's business may legally face disciplinary action as defined by their employer.

Enforcement The National Labor Relations Board, not the Department of Labor, serves as the nation's primary organization charged with oversight of NLRA laws. Employees who feel their Section 7 rights were violated through censorship or by receiving disciplinary action or termination after discussing salary and compensation with another worker should file a complaint at one of the NLRB's 52 regional offices. If the NLRB determines an employee lost his job after exercising his Section 7 rights, it may require the employer to reinstate the worker or provide the worker with damages.

Resources National Labor Relations Board

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