You cannot prevent your employees from discussing wages. It is literally illegal to do so, and you cannot reprimand people for doing so.
Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act), employees have the right to communicate with their coworkers about their wages, as well as with labor organizations, worker centers, the media, and the public. Wages are a vital term and condition of employment, and discussions of wages are often preliminary to organizing or other actions for mutual aid or protection.
If you are an employee covered by the Act, you may discuss wages in face-to-face conversations, over the phone, and in written messages. Policies that specifically prohibit the discussion of wages are unlawful as are policies that chill employees from discussing their wages.
You may have discussions about wages when not at work, when you are on break, and even during work if employees are permitted to have other non-work conversations. You have these rights whether or not you are represented by a union.
But you are still an at will employee and they can fire your for anything else for any reason at any time with little recourse unless a lawyer will take your case and they almost never do. They won’t fire you for talking about your wages but suddenly you get bad reviews and get laid off.
If you get suddenly laid off after doing a legally protected activity, you do have very direct recourse.
Judges aren’t generally stupid, nor is the national labor board. If you do a legal thing companies hate and are suddenly fired out of the blue, it’s very obvious what happened, no matter what the comapny claims. It may take time and effort, but you very may get back paid the fof the entire time you were fired.
Doesn’t need to be suddenly. That said it isn’t as easy as you state. I’ve tried to get recourse and no one would even take my case because of made up bad reviews they’ve been keeping for years. At the place I used to work at the managers were not allowed to give everyone good reviews, 1/3 of the company got bad reviews every quarter. This is how corporations like cough capital one cough deal with this and get you out.
concerted organizing activity is protected under the law. talking about it with your boss yourself is not organizing activity. talking about it with a coworker in front of your boss is.
this is what a job journal is for. it would prove what happened.
the law that protected concerted organizing activity is the same that took the teeth out of the unions. i want to see that law abolished, but i’m an anarchist, so i want them all gone.
You cannot prevent your employees from discussing wages. It is literally illegal to do so, and you cannot reprimand people for doing so.
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages
But you are still an at will employee and they can fire your for anything else for any reason at any time with little recourse unless a lawyer will take your case and they almost never do. They won’t fire you for talking about your wages but suddenly you get bad reviews and get laid off.
If you get suddenly laid off after doing a legally protected activity, you do have very direct recourse.
Judges aren’t generally stupid, nor is the national labor board. If you do a legal thing companies hate and are suddenly fired out of the blue, it’s very obvious what happened, no matter what the comapny claims. It may take time and effort, but you very may get back paid the fof the entire time you were fired.
Doesn’t need to be suddenly. That said it isn’t as easy as you state. I’ve tried to get recourse and no one would even take my case because of made up bad reviews they’ve been keeping for years. At the place I used to work at the managers were not allowed to give everyone good reviews, 1/3 of the company got bad reviews every quarter. This is how corporations like cough capital one cough deal with this and get you out.
You didn’t get laid off because you discussed your wages.
You were laid off because you couldn’t keep your cards close to your chest and told the company y’all had been discussing wages.
Having the right to discuss it doesn’t mean you should do it in front of the boss.
concerted organizing activity is protected under the law. talking about it with your boss yourself is not organizing activity. talking about it with a coworker in front of your boss is.
this is what a job journal is for. it would prove what happened.
I wish I could believe in the system like you do. Have you ever tried to get justice in the US?
the law that protected concerted organizing activity is the same that took the teeth out of the unions. i want to see that law abolished, but i’m an anarchist, so i want them all gone.