Can Employees Discuss Wages? Best Practices for Better Conversations

Nearly half of employees (44%) think salary transparency builds trust in a company, but over half (54%) say their company discourages talking about pay with coworkers. Despite this prevalence, HR has a duty to step in and protect both employees’ legal right to discuss wages and the business from legal risk.

It’s a win-win. As HR puts better processes in place for constructive pay conversations, the workplace becomes more transparent and open, nurturing a fair and equitable culture. By supporting wage discussions, you’ll also foster a more collaborative and supportive‌ environment.

By providing formal avenues for discussing wages, you can help employees get accurate, relevant pay information—and that’s on top of the trust and satisfaction you’ll get, too. And adding in compliance around wage conversations also means you’ll protect your employees and business from unfair labor and discrimination practices.

In this article, you’ll find:

• Details on employees’ legal right to discuss wages
• The top pay equity laws you need to stay compliant
• Tips on how HR can foster wage transparency

Key Takeaways: Can You Tell Employees Not to Discuss Pay?

In short, no. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) makes it very clear that it’s unlawful for an employer to have any policies, work rules, or hiring contracts prohibiting employees from discussing their salaries. This protection exists for all employees regardless of whether or not they’re unionized.

Is It Illegal for Your Employees to Discuss Wages with Each Other?

No, it’s not illegal for your employees to discuss wages in the workplace. In fact, they’re allowed to discuss their wages anywhere, with anyone, in any way, including:

• In person, in writing, over the phone, and on social media ‌
• During work, work breaks, and outside of work
• With coworkers, worker centers, labor organizations, the public, and the media

Is It Legal to Stop Employees From Discussing Their Salary?

Nope! It’s illegal for an employer to prevent employees from discussing wages, and employees don’t need permission from their employer to discuss wages. As an employer or HR rep, you also can’t:

• Interrogate or threaten an employee about wage discussions
• Punish or retaliate against an employee for discussing their salaries

If you or your company does any of these things, you could face charges from the NLRB.

Top 5 Pay Equity Laws You Need to Know

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces several laws that protect individuals from pay discrimination in the workplace.

Here are the top regulations employers should be aware of:

• The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was enacted to prevent sex-based pay discrimination. It ensures that men and women are paid equally within the same organization for performing similar jobs.
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Unlike the EPA, this law does not require the jobs being performed to be similar to receive the same pay.
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prohibits discrimination—including withholding hiring, promotions, or equal wages—based on age.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 protects those with disabilities from discrimination in the workplace, including disparity in wages, advancement, job training, and job privileges.
• The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 protects individuals from discrimination in health insurance and employment based on their genetic information.

How HR Can Promote Better Pay Conversations and Pay Transparency

So what do you do when an employee is concerned about their pay? Taking the time to discuss employees’ questions about their pay shows that your organization recognizes and respects their rights.

Instead of discouraging employees from discussing pay (which is illegal), HR can help employees feel they’re being treated fairly and feel safe bringing the best versions of themselves to work.

Here are some best practices to build trust with employees and have more constructive wage conversations:

Create a Workplace Where HR Is Open and Approachable

Remind employees that their opinions matter, and encourage them to bring their questions and concerns to HR. The best way to do this? Enact an open-door policy to encourage employees to bring up job-related issues rather than keeping them bottled up.

Have a Clear, Thorough Compensation Strategy

Keep conversations about pay productive, and create an environment of transparency. Here are some examples of pay transparency you can put in place:

• Post clear salary ranges for each role when recruiting new talent.
• Help current employees understand how their compensation was determined.
• Share how careful research of industry standards, compensation benchmarking studies, and salary surveys inform compensation at your company.

Pay Fairly

Review your compensation strategy to make sure it’s based on industry standards and there are no discrepancies in wages that violate equal pay laws.

Show Employees Their Total Compensation

Explain to employees how their pay is determined, and train your frontline managers on how to have those conversations, too. Using a total compensation calculator can help illuminate aspects of compensation beyond base pay, including benefits and perks.

Help Employees Understand Potential Job Paths

Provide clear career path frameworks, outline development opportunities within your organization, and offer regular professional development workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions to discuss individual goals and the skills needed for development. Don’t forget to share employee success stories to inspire and guide others.

Conduct Surveys

Employee wellness surveys can give employers eye-opening insight into an employee’s experience, whether it’s related to compensation, job growth, or how valued they feel. Anonymous surveys are an opportunity to allow employees to give honest feedback without fear of retaliation or discrimination, so we recommend using these in addition to regular feedback surveys.