Can an employer demand that you not talk about your pay with other employees?
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Can an employer demand that you not talk about your pay with other employees?
My employer is threatening write ups and being fired for talking about our pay at work. We are a non union security company in Idaho. Some sites get different pay than others, and most of the new hires are being hired in at a higher wage than those of us that have been with the company for a while. I just recently found out that the site I am currently at pays $11 per hour and they only had me at $10.50. They were not telling us that the site was a higher wage, and they have been doing this to a lot of employees. Also I have worked for the company for over 4 years and Just found out that they have been starting new hires at $11 per hour for some time. When some of us asked about this, we were threatened and told that it was company policy to not talk about wages.
Asked on December 6, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Idaho
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Most employment is "at will". This means that a company can set the conditions of the workplace much as it sees fit absent some form of legally actionable discrimination. In other words, if certain employees are being treated differently than others due to their race, religion, nationality, gender, age, disability, etc. then that is llegal. However, absent that, employees need not be treated the same or even fairly. Bottom line, unless you have protection against this treatment under the terms of a union agreement or employment contract, you have no claim here.
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Most employment is "at will". This means that a company can set the conditions of the workplace much as it sees fit absent some form of legally actionable discrimination. In other words, if certain employees are being treated differently than others due to their race, religion, nationality, gender, age, disability, etc. then that is llegal. However, absent that, employees need not be treated the same or even fairly. Bottom line, unless you have protection against this treatment under the terms of a union agreement or employment contract, you have no claim here.
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