‘You can’t discuss your pay': Manager tells employee they can't discuss wages with coworkers, employee reports them to HR and district manager

It is not in a company's best interest to have their employees gather and hold a discussion about how much they are being paid, but it is certainly in the employee's best interest. Back when I was floor manager at a restaurant, I remember finding out that people who were way newer than I was at the job were getting about one dollar more than me. It doesn't really matter that it was one dollar (that adds up, by the way), it matters that this dollar is symbolic! Why should people who have fewer qualifications, and are newer at the job, make more than I do? It's a good question, one that upper management always fails to answer, as they blubber and try to come up with a semi-acceptable excuse.

In any case, it's unfair to ask employees not to discuss their wages, and also, illegal. u/WillingPiglet shared that she was working as a hostess at a national restaurant chain in the US. She had seniority, but as discussed before, management doesn't always care about that. She was hired at $14.65. She found out that other hosts were making $15 an hour… and they were hired after her. Sound familiar? Story of my life.

OP immediately left a sticky note on her manager's desk, which is more than I did back in my day, so kudos. Then her manager agreed to a raise but told her that she wasn't actually allowed to discuss wages with other employees and that it was written in the employees' handbook. OP checked said handbook, and guess what? Nothing of the sort was written. She then found out via some friends that if it had been written in the handbook, she would have quite the lawsuit on her hands. So, she began reporting people. Scroll down to read what happened.

Next, a warehouse worker who was fired 4 hours into his first day.

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Author image for Eleonora Bader Eleonora Bader
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