Discussing Salaries

Rockie · September 2002

I know the NLRA prohbits restricting employees from discussing salaries among themselves blah blah blah....but...where does confidentiality come into play?
For example, should an employee be allowed to ask another employee what they make? I have had a employee tell me that someone had asked them what they made and that made them very uncomfortable. I told them to simply tell them it is none of their business.

I also have some suspicions that a certain employee is asking one of her "buddies" in payroll to divulge what someone else is making in order to see if they are making more than she is. I assume this is still an unacceptable practice (maybe breach of confidentality?) and grounds for termination?

Oh, I remember the days when people considered this personal business and in very poor taste to either ask or divulge salaries.

Don D · September 2002

My mother told me her answer to really personal questions was always, "If you'll forgive me for not answering, I'll forgive you for asking." That translates, I think, to "It's none of your business." Termination is definitely a consideration if someone in Human Resources is releasing information from personnel files or payroll records to anyone other than the limited "need to know" situations. Advice will follow about having confidentiality statements signed by the HR staff; but, I wouldn't let that hamstring me if I didn't have it. The interview process and subsequent memos and staff meetings should surely cover the demand of confidentiality. Also, I think this relates to the accounting staff as well. If I suspected what you suspect, I would immediately call him/her in and read him/her the act. x:-)

System · September 2002

The NLRB can be crazy, but even they wouldn't say that the NLRA allows payroll ees to disclose confidential information. The payroll boss needs to remind everyone in the dept. that payroll info is confidential. And anyone who reveals confidential information about [b]someone else's pay[/b] will have their own pay permanently reduced to zero.

James Sokolowski
Senior Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers

thonoway · September 2002

What about in the situation where someone outside of payroll or HR obtains this information and shares it with others? How would the NLRB look on this situation and are there any rulings dealing with this situation?

Rexxies · September 2002

Wow--I don't know what industries y'all have been working in but I just spent 4 years in manufacturing and everyone knew everyone else's salary because they were all a bunch of blabbermouths! As the HR person, it made me totally crazy but beyond going over confidentiality when I first hired them and reminding the supervisors/managers to do the same every 6 months or so, highlighting salary and other personal information, there wasn't much I could do. And you just can't fire your whole plant cause they choose to share that info!

However, if someone in a position of knowing that information shares it with anyone else, an investigation should occur and corrective action be applied. However, I've always been the type of HR person who says, first time, strong warning, next time-termination. I once had a Controller make a comment about how much I was making to me in a conversation--I went straight to his boss and he was given a strong warning. His comments were inappropriate but I didn't feel termination was called for.

I think you need to follow up on this situation--obviously you do as well or you wouldn't have posted. I think you should also send an email or memo to all supervisors/managers reminding them to discuss confidentiality in their next department meetings reminding them that it applies to all company and employee information.

Good luck.

moneyman · September 2002

I don't know about an exact rulings, but as James posted above, I would consider anyone releasing information on SOMEONE ELSES salary a violation of confidentiality, regardless of whether you were the payroll clerk or someone who just happened to get a peek at the wage schedule. We have had someone in payroll leave a wage increase schedule in the photocopier and it was promptly returned to the payroll department. Unfortunately, the person could not help but look at it in order to determine who to return it to. But in this situation, I would consider this person to now be under the same obligations of a person in the payroll department, keep you lips sealed.

If a person wants to release their own information, that is their personal business, but releasing someone elses is not.

thonoway · September 2002

The problem, I believe, is if you have a policy prohibiting the discussion of salaries then employees outside of HR and payroll can discuss this information if they happen to obtain it because they had no other means of obtaining it (ie asking a coworker). This was discussed in a NLRB case in the 80's.

Don D · September 2002

Actually what you have is an illegal policy prohibiting employee discussions of salaries and then you have an employee who has breached confidentiality by 'obtaining' a salary printout and revealing its contents to others. Although the policy is illegal, and such discussions among non-supervisory employees is a right protected by the NLRA, my opinion is that if she is fired for the poor judgement breach of confidentiality, at least a nine month period will ensue, after which the NLRB will find that she should be returned with back pay to her job. Or, she may never even consider taking it that route. A more sensible reaction would be to give her a writeup consistent with your disciplinary policy, remove any policy not consistent with the NLRA, beef up your policy among the HR and Accounting staff regarding records confidentiality and tighten up whatever caused the printout to be generated and misplaced.

Discussing Salaries

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