Government employee makes $33 an hour, manager insists it should be $10 instead: 'The department head makes $130k a year'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Feb 15, 2026 9:00 AM EST

Many managers do not like employees to talk about pay, unless they are the ones starting the conversation.

Salaries can be a sensitive topic in the workplace, and a lot of the time, that is because companies prefer it when employees do not know what everyone else is paid. Even the employers who do claim to value pay transparency can end up being weird about it, although it is often enlightening to understand who gets what kind of money.

We all know that most people are just doing their jobs for the paycheck, so perhaps that is part of the reason that management is sometimes cagey about what everybody gets paid. They do not want to have any conversations about raises getting out of control. 

However, if, for whatever reason, they think that somebody is being paid too much, they are usually more than happy to make it known. Pay cuts are one of the main reasons that employees may choose to leave a job, but many bosses are willing to take the risk anyway. Ultimately, there is almost always somebody who is willing to do the work for cheaper if you leave. Knowing your worth is important, and sometimes it means taking business elsewhere.

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  • a man looks to another man while holding a piece of paper and a pen and sitting at a table, with shelves behind him
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

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  • Being told that you earn too much can come as an unpleasant surprise, particularly if that has been your salary for a while. This was what one government agency employee and his supervisor dealt with after they were called into a meeting by their department head.

    The head insisted that they were being paid too much, with the employee currently making $33 an hour. He thought that instead, they should be making around $10. The employee felt that this was a ridiculous demand, not least because they lived in a high cost of living area. He chose to vent about the situation, wondering if it was time to look for work elsewhere.

  • I got told I was making too much.

    I need some help I think I'm going mental. I work at a government agency making $33 an hour.
    via Spare-Pudding-7906
  • Ive worked there for 7 years. 5 years ago I got promoted to parts manager. Well my immediate supervisor and I got called into a meeting and our department head told us we were both over paid (supervisor makes 90k a year but has been there for decades.
    via Spare-Pudding-7906
  • ) and we should be making $10 an hour. Meanwhile the departmenr head makes 130k a year.
    via Spare-Pudding-7906
  • I'm losing my mind now feel like I'm going to get fired and I have a kid and a mortgage.
    via Spare-Pudding-7906
  • Is it time to job hop in this terrible economy? I know hes delusional because we live in a relatively high cost of living area and even retail and fast food starts at $20...
    via Spare-Pudding-7906
  • a person holds open an empty brown leather wallet
    via Towfiqu barbhuiya

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Skeggy- I couldn't imagine my employer telling me I should be making below my states minimum wage
    via Skeggy-
  • Spare-Pudding-7906 Original Poster's Reply Yeah caught me off guard. Really a blow to my ego more then anything but I'm going to start applying.
    via Spare-Pudding-7906
  • Safe-Tennis-6121 I don't know what state but even in the south east fast food workers make more than $10 per hour typically. I would say 18-23 might be typical government hourly wage, maybe $14-15 if it's something very low end like customer service or something.
    via Safe-Tennis-6121
  • Spare-Pudding-7906 Original Poster's Reply Yeah I'm chocking it up to just a toxic environment and maybe he was having a bad day. Still probably time to bounce.
    via Spare-Pudding-7906
  • L-F-O-D There are something like 5000 appointees in the us public service, appointed based not on merit. I assume it's higher with Trump. You probably met one of them.
    via L-F-O-D
  • Spare-Pudding-7906 Original Poster's Reply Very possible. 33 an hour might sound like a lot but where I live a small starter home is 500k.
    via Spare-Pudding-7906
  • 5MinuteDad I got told in a review "you make significantly more than others in manager roles... 3.months later I was fired...come to find out I made more than my supervisor did and they were paying 19k less to the new role
    via 5MinuteDad
  • polishrocket 33 is poverty wages where I live
    via polishrocket
  • Glass_Number_1707 I would look around ( I would always look around). But right now I would stay put. F em. See if anything else happens. Sounds like a directive from above him to do some trimming. Popular right now. Tell him you want all correspondence in writing from now on. Ask him to EXPLAIN how you are overpaid. How does he base this opinion? Sounds like he is blowing smoke. Is he taking a pay cut? I would stand firm and see what happens. ( While I am looking around) It's a shitty environmen
    via Glass_Number_1707
  • Occhrome Nothing good can come out of this. Either the idiot is gonna run the business into the ground or try to fire you. Time to start looking at new jobs.
    via Occhrome
  • West_Statement1743 Not making enough. Genuinely
    via West_Statement1743
  • Spare-Pudding-7906 Original Poster's Reply For real. Thanks
    via Spare-Pudding-7906

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