You may have recently started a job position at a new company. Or, you may have gotten an internal promotion at your current company. Either way, you may not have a reference point for a reasonable salary, given your title, education, skillset, years of experience, etc. In this case, you may be tempted to compare notes, so to speak, with coworkers in the same or similar positions. However, you may fear that discussing money is seen as taboo. Besides that, you may wonder if your employer permits such discussions in the workplace. Well, please read on to discover whether you are allowed to discuss your salary at work and how a seasoned employment agreement attorney in Gloucester County NJ, at The Vigilante Law Firm, P.C., can guide you on what types of conversations you can and cannot engage in.
What laws allow me to discuss my salary at work?
On the federal level, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) allows private-sector employees to discuss their wages and salaries at work with their coworkers. Also, they may be safeguarded if they choose to raise concerns about identified pay disparities with their employer, along with seeking enlightening salary and wage information from their employer. Of note, this protection applies regardless of whether these employees are unionized or not.
On the state level, New Jersey enforces the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act, which is an amendment of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Similarly, with this, employees can discuss salaries and benefits with their coworkers, verbally or electronically, without fear of retaliation. In addition, this Act holds that an employer is prohibited from asking job applicants about their past salary and benefits history during the hiring process.
To take it one step further, the state of New Jersey has introduced a pay transparency law effective June 1, 2025. This means that certain employers are now required to include a salary or wage range for internal and external job postings and advertisements.
Are there exceptions where discussing salary is not protected?
After reading this blog so far, you may feel liberated enough to discuss money freely with your coworkers at work. However, you should be mindful of the specific limitations to this granted protection. That is, you likely cannot disclose your salary to certain third parties, such as media outlets or direct competitors of your company. And so, if you signed a confidentiality agreement upon accepting an employment opportunity, you must carefully read through its terms and conditions for salary discussions.
Lastly, your employer may withhold the right to take disciplinary actions against you if you are accused of sharing your salary with your coworkers for malicious reasons. For instance, if you intentionally and negligently misled your coworker by telling them your salary is $100,000 when it is only $75,000. The alleged reasons behind this may be to leverage influence and power over your coworkers, to manipulate your coworkers’ perception of fairness, and subsequently create hostility in the workplace, etc.
There is no need to go through the important process of studying your employment rights alone. Please seek the support and assistance of one of the competent New Jersey employment lawyers. Contact The Vigilante Law Firm, P.C., today.
