‘I accepted a higher-paying position before resigning’: Management threatens to fire an employee because she shared her salary with a loud-mouth Karen; she quits and finds a better job

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Nov 24, 2023 4:00 PM EST

Is it illegal to discuss your salary with your coworkers? Technically no, but it can make some waves in the workplace that some employees– and management –definitely don't want to address. Perhaps some people get awkward about their financial privacy and don't want the soccer moms in the cubicle next door that they can definitely afford to sponsor their child's next fundraiser. It may be corporate propaganda or simply a faux pas, but a lot of employees are against chatting about their pay rate in the workplace. 

Since it's not illegal, I guess it just comes down to this: Do you trust your coworkers or not? 

In our next story, one woman actually got run out of the office just because the Karen at the next desk over got so jealous of her salary. Not only that, but her bosses (illegally) threatened to fire her after the ordeal. This little tidbit from the workplace may make you second guess your discussions with your coworkers, because things can get a little hairy when it comes to money. 

Most people are well-versed in avoiding the searing gaze of the Karen's in their life, but for u/Rare-Switch8910, her toxic Karen encounter actually spurred the best career decision of her life– and probably taught her a lesson about which coworkers are trustworthy and which are not.

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  • 01
    B r/AmIthe . Posted by u/Rare-Switch8910 7 hours ago AITA for ignoring my coworker after she told our boss she knew my salary? A couple of weeks ago my coworker (40s F) "Rose" asked me (22F) what my salary was, and we found out I was making more than her even before my raise.
    via u/Rare-Switch8910
  • 02
    Rose is the only one with a different title and responsibilities than the rest of our team, but she's been helping out with tasks that the rest of us perform so I encouraged her to ask for a raise. Rose went to our boss and flipped out. She told our boss she knew how much I was making and demanded the same salary.
    via u/Rare-Switch8910
  • 03
    Obviously our boss didn't take it well. I was pulled aside, told what went down, and told that management doesn't appreciate this kind of thing and they'll have no choice but to fire people who do this going forward.
    via u/Rare-Switch8910
  • 04
    Rose called me after work to rant about what happened. I basically told her it was her fault because instead of making her raise about her merits, she brought me and my salary into it. But Rose tried to deflect blame by saying it was our boss who was trying to divide us.
    via u/Rare-Switch8910
  • 05
    This whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth and I feel completely thrown under the bus. Since then I kept my head down and secretly planned my leave. Last Friday, I handed in my resignation and my boss let the whole team know. Most of the off, team looked visibly including Rose.
    via u/Rare-Switch8910
  • 06
    Rose has been trying to reach out to me at work and spammed me with phone calls and texts after work, saying she has important things to discuss. I lied to her that I'm pretty busy so I can't meet at work and have just been ignoring her calls and texts.
    via u/Rare-Switch8910
  • 07
    In her last message, she says I can spare her a minute and it's not nice to ignore her. I'm wondering if I'm TA? Edit: I accepted a higher paying job before resigning
    via u/Rare-Switch8910
  • 08
    Wumamichl. 2 hr. ago Partassipant [2] NTA, i don't think you did anything wrong. She can't pressure you like that, calling you all the time and stuff. But I don't get why you quit. Your colleague was wrong for flipping out at your boss. You just told her your salary and that should be fine imo. If the company is afraid that their workers know someone's salary, that's a sign the company doesn't pay fairly.
    via u/Wumamichl
  • 09
    Rare-Switch8910 OP 2 hr. ago I quit for a lot of reasons, this was just the catalyst. My boss told me that management will be keeping an eye on me because of this and I don't want to work with Rose anymore because I feel like she threw me under the bus and ruined our working relationship when I was just trying to help her by encouraging her to ask for a raise.
    via u/Rare-Switch8910
  • 10
    sarabeara12345678910 2 hr. ago If you're in the US your boss is acting illegally. You need to report this to the DOL. 1.0k Reply Share errantknight1 . 41 min. ago Canada, too. Def. should be reported. Vote Reply Share IDDQD_IDKFA-com. 19 min. ago Partassipant [1] Also in EU.
    via u/sarabeara12345678910
  • 11
    Lia_Delphine 2 hr. ago Colo-rectal Surgeon [30] The people saying never discuss your salary are just plain wrong. This is the problem and exactly what management wants. It's why there is a huge difference in some people's pay when they are doing the same job. We should be sharing this information so they stop ripping people off.
    via u/Lia_Delphine
  • 12
    sneezhousing 2 hr. ago Partassipant [1] What your boss said to you is illegal. You are allowed to.talk salary. It is protected by law
    via u/Sneezhousing
  • 13
    True Dimension4344 2 hr. ago While that's true the company can often fire you for whatever reason they like, especially in certain states with "at will" employment. Discussing salary is a huge problem for these companies and they legit discourage it despite its illegality
    via u/True_Dimension4344
  • 14
    Montana WildWiman 2 hr. ago Colo-rectal Surgeon [45] Thats actually not completely true... they can fire you for nothing in at will states, but they can not fire you for protected reasons. Discussing wages is one of them protected reasons they can not fire someone over. The biggest issue then is proving it.
    via u/MontanaWildWiman
  • 15
    FragrantEconomist386 · 3 hr. ago Certified Proctologist [22] NTA. One surefire way of telling if a workplace is toxic is if they don't want you to disclose your salary. Rose didn't behave well either. All in all, you will probably be better off elsewhere.
    via u/FragrantEconomist386
  • 16
    middle_age_zombie - 2 hr. ago NTA, you have every right to discuss salary. It is a legally protected right if you live in the US, if they had fired you, you would have been able to go after them for violating the law. She is an AH because, she did go about it the wrong way. It may be considered bad manners to talk about salary, but that is how employers keep us from figuring out what they can offer so we accept less.
    via u/middle_age_zombie
  • 17
    InviteAdditional8463 2 hr. ago NTA: but firing someone for disclosing their salary is illegal. You can discuss pay all you want and management can't do about it. Not legally. Next time ask for things in writing for your lawyer.
    via u/InviteAdditional8463
  • 18
    oguh20 2 hr. ago NAH The only boss here is your Your boss chew you up because he was wrong and he was caught in the lie. The stigma of sharing the salary is a tool to separate coworkers
    via u/oguh20
  • 19
    bentnotbroken96 1 hr. ago If you're in the U.S., discussion of pay is a federally protected right. ΝΤΑ 17 Reply Share 11SkiHill 2 hr. ago Screw her. Too busy is too busy. Your management handled it badly. Move on. Chin up. You will be happier elsewhere.
    via u/bentnotbroken96
  • 20
    Syndicofberyl. 2 hr. ago NTA - she's being unreasonable. More to the point. Your boss saying they fire people for discussing their wages....pretty sure that's illegal....in North America at least
    via u/Syndicofberyl
  • 21
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salary boss worker employee manager work coworkers working raise employees pay supervisor workplace payback coworker money karen
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