How many of my readers...

[ambitious_wench]

How many of my readers are forbidden from discussing their wage rates?

A recent supreme court decision ruled against a woman who filed suit against Goodyear because she didn't file within 180 days of violation of equal wage laws.

The kicker? She didn't find out she was being paid less than her male co-workers for years after the fact because Goodyear doesn't allow workers to discuss their rates of pay.

I've always resented being silenced about what I make because of this very reason. Pay discrimination is real, and when employers forbid wage earners from discussing their pay, it's a form of control that prevents detection.

Recently, a bill was passed in the House of Representatives called "Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007," and it looks like it will pass the Senate, too.

Bush has stated he will veto it.

Comments

[mongo.livejournal.com]

I have generally not talked about what I make with co-workers male or female since high-school and even then it was only in the general sense (like how much of a raise I got). I never associated it with anything other than office etiquette (and I tended to negotiate higher rates especially in my last few jobs and didn't want to ruffle too many feathers).

But now that you put it that way... it could be an issue. But then again most of the places I have worked have been mostly male except for the owners who happened to be female (go figure).

[docjeff.livejournal.com]

My employment contract doesn't allow me to reveal my pay rate. But I'm basically a sub-contractor anyway so I work by myself for the most part.

Bush is going to veto anything which could even remotely take money away from his precious. Note how he attempted to kill PBS' funding recently.

[x-harlequin-x.livejournal.com]

(friends-of-found you through [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]markedformetal)

In California, it's illegal for an employer to tell employees they can't discuss their wages.

232. No employer may do any of the following:
(a) Require, as a condition of employment, that an employee
refrain from disclosing the amount of his or her wages.
(b) 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.
(c) Discharge, formally discipline, or otherwise discriminate
against an employee who discloses the amount of his or her wages.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=lab&group=00001-01000&file=200-243

Which I think is just awesome.

[ambitious-wench.livejournal.com]

Thank you for that bit of information. I have a union job, and so finding out how much a co-worker makes per hour is pretty easy. I just have to know their seniority.

I had no clue California had that law!

Welcome, BTW. Thanks for commenting.

[x-harlequin-x.livejournal.com]

I didn't know California had that law until my former employers pissed me off one day and I went looking for things they might be violating. California seems to have a lot of liberal pro-employee laws - which doesn't mean all employers know about it. I have trained the HR girl at my current employment not to tell anyone they can't discuss salary information - she tells them that a lot goes into determining someone's salary, and that comparing numbers isn't something we encourage. But she never, ever tells anyone they may not discuss their wage.

[frou-frou.livejournal.com]

I don't expect my staff not to discuss such things, so they're all on the same rate. I'm a very open boss and they have access to all sorts of information as I'd rather have a positive work place where they feel trusted and valued.

Whenever I've discussed pay rates with fellow workers in the past I've been horrified about the inequities. I want to avoid that.

[scascot.livejournal.com]

There is a very good reason for the prohibition against discussing your wage with fellow employees - I've recently had this happen to me with one of my employees.

The sad fact is, humans are vain creatures. Like it or not, a rate of pay is often interpreted as a statement of your value to the company, rather than as compensation for a skill set or longevity with the company. And very often, employees who find out that someone they consider to be inferior makes more money than they do leads to resentment, conflict and employee turnover when the "slighted" employee leaves because the feel they are being treated unfairly. In an effort to avoid this, the normal reaction of a company is to give the "complaining" employee a raise, which sets a bad precedent that puts the employee in control of wages and raises.

So yes, at my company, we have a policy that prohibits the discussing of wages.