Is It Illegal for Employees to Discuss Their Salary?

It’s still a common practice for an employee to lower their voice when mentioning their wages or salary to a co-worker. This habit stems from decades of employer mandates that prohibit employees from discussing their pay with one another. But is it really illegal for one employee to disclose their wages to another or to discuss salaries over the office coffee pot?

Before you guiltily whisper about your wages to a coworker because a supervisor or employer forbids pay comparisons, it’s important to understand your rights and who in your workplace is in violation of state and federal employment laws regarding pay secrecy in California. Reach out to our experienced employment lawyers for a free case review today. 

Understanding Your Rights as an Employee In California

California’s expansion of national laws prohibiting pay discrimination aims to increase transparency, discourage wage and hour violations, and combat discrimination in the workplace, including pay disparities for similar job positions. Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), employees have a legal right to discuss all work-related matters between themselves and engage in other activities meant to improve pay and work conditions. Under this federal protection, all employees may discuss and compare their salaries and wages to address disparities in pay. This is an important protection extended to both union and non-union workers; however, the federal law does not protect independent contractors and other workers who are not considered employees.

California’s state employment law expands the federal protection under the California Equal Pay Act to prohibit an employer from retaliating against employees who discuss their pay.

What Rights Does the California Equal Pay Act Protect?

The California Equal Pay Act includes additional protections for employees in California, including the right to discuss their pay with coworkers and others outside of the workplace. Under California Code LAB 232, the law states the following:

“No employer may do any of the following:

• Require, as a condition of employment, that an employee refrain from disclosing the amount of his or her wages.

• Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document that purports to deny the employee the right to disclose the amount of his or her wages.

• Discharge, formally discipline, or otherwise discriminate against an employee who discloses the amount of his or her wages.”

Despite these protections, some California employers perpetuate the idea that talking about wages or salaries is unprofessional or against their company policy. However, if an employer’s company policy prohibits discussion of wages or attempts to limit these discussions to formal or private meetings, the employer is in violation of the law, not the employees who talk about their pay.

Employees May Discuss Their Pay With Others Publicly, Privately, And on Social Media

It benefits an employer to dissuade their workers from discussing their salaries or wages amongst themselves or with others outside of the workplace. A lack of transparency allows employers to discriminate in their pay practices without exposure. These practices perpetuate wage gaps that often affect protected classes, such as women and minorities, or allow unfair wage discrepancies based on an employer’s age or marital status.

If an employer retaliates against an employee who discusses their pay with others by terminating their employment, reducing hours, or demoting them, the employee has grounds for a wrongful termination lawsuit against the employer who is in violation of California’s employee protection laws.